premarital assets

[tck]

my husband and i live in missouri with our 6 mon. old daughter. i purchased my home in 1995 and the house and loan are in my name only. in nov. 1999 my husband moved into the home right after we married. i didn't work from dec. 1999 until recently due to my pregnancy, being extremely ill, and the birth of our daughter. my husband makes very little money so w/o my income we lived off credit cards (mine) and then paid them off with my lawsuit winnings received in dec. 2000. is my husband entitled to any of the proceeds of the sale of our house if it should be sold before or after we divorce? there is approx. $40,000 in equity in the house. he contributed roughly $15,000 to the household expenses since dec. 1999 to the present. again, the house and the mortgage are in my name only.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

my husband and i live in missouri with our 6 mon. old daughter. i purchased my home in 1995 and the house and loan are in my name only. in nov. 1999 my husband moved into the home right after we married. i didn't work from dec. 1999 until recently due to my pregnancy, being extremely ill, and the birth of our daughter. my husband makes very little money so w/o my income we lived off credit cards (mine) and then paid them off with my lawsuit winnings received in dec. 2000. is my husband entitled to any of the proceeds of the sale of our house if it should be sold before or after we divorce? there is approx. $40,000 in equity in the house. he contributed roughly $15,000 to the household expenses since dec. 1999 to the present. again, the house and the mortgage are in my name only.

My response:

Missouri is a "Separate Property" State, where the property rights of married people are governed by the "common law" of property. In general, this means that during the marriage and at death, ownership is determined by who acquired the property and/or whose name is on it.

Therefore, the chances of him getting his hands on the equity in the home are slim and none.

Since the State takes the position that the money he used for the home WAS his separate property, what he did was to "gift" that money to you and your separate property. Therefore, since it was a gift, he's not entitled to a "refund".

It's unfortunate that with such a young child, that there's talk of divorce. Good luck to you.

IAAL