What exactly should I expect as a result of "equitable distribution of assets"?

[MiseryInNJ]

Hmm, well, verbally we'd always said and understood that I contributed pretty much everything, money wise, up front.

However, since we did the home purchases after marriage, on paper, the house is jointly owned.

On the other hand, there's obviously a paper-trail that shows where the big down payment as well as repayment of my wife's debts originally came from. I don't think my wife would ever actually deny, if asked, where that bulk of money came from, though.

So I guess this means that if we don't come to an agreed settlement on our own, the court will treat the house as 50-50?

If so, what happens to the bank account? That is something we'd always verbally considered jointly owned, but on paper it's strictly in my name. What happens there, in the view of the courts?

 

[Bali Hai]

Hmm, well, verbally we'd always said and understood that I contributed pretty much everything, money wise, up front.

However, since we did the home purchases after marriage, on paper, the house is jointly owned.

On the other hand, there's obviously a paper-trail that shows where the big down payment as well as repayment of my wife's debts originally came from. I don't think my wife would ever actually deny, if asked, where that bulk of money came from, though.

So I guess this means that if we don't come to an agreed settlement on our own, the court will treat the house as 50-50?

If so, what happens to the bank account? That is something we'd always verbally considered jointly owned, but on paper it's strictly in my name. What happens there, in the view of the courts?

Offer 25% of the marital assets and then duck.

 

[MiseryInNJ]

BaliHai - I was addressing my question as a response to information posted by seniorjudge, to be answered by seniorjudge, or anyone who might have some *legal* insight into this matter.

Unfortunately, your answers fall into a few basic categories:
1) Useless
2) Sarcastic and useless
3) Insulting and useless

Therefore, I ask that you please refrain from posting to this thread further, since you have nothing in terms of legal facts to contribute, and I'm fairly certain that.

Again, I was addressing my question as a response to information posted by seniorjudge, to be answered by seniorjudge, or anyone who might have some *legal* insight into this matter.

 

[nextwife]

Whose name is is in only really matters with legally seperate property:

inherited by one spouse, premarital, non-comingled assets, gift to one spouse.

Accounts funded with marital assets (such as income during the marriage) would be considered marital in a property division. The spouse who does not work outside the home is still considered as contributing to the marriage finances, because if they did not provide child caregiving, household management, etc, then those costs would come out of the household income. The SAH spouse is still considered to be contributing something of financial worth. Thus all retirement, savings, etc that accrues during the marriage is marital, regardless of who actually had the paycheck it was funded from.