Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Division of Property

Hello,

First off, you are not being selfish; you simply want to know where you stand and to protect your quality of life (and your children's, no doubt) despite the changes you are contemplating.

Regarding your home: Your home is community property (as are other jointly held assets), despite the fact that the down payment came from property that you owned prior to mariage. This means that the property belongs to you and your husband 50/50. Options as part of a divorce settlement or judgment may include selling the home and splitting the proceeds, or buying out his half.

Other assets: if you are concerned about retailiation from your spouse, you may want to consider quietly moving some money into personal (not joint) bank accounts, and obtaining your own credit cards prior to announcing your plans.

Regarding the former: this won't mean the money is your seperate property when it comes time to divy up assets. Rather, it offers some protection if he decides to empty out your joint accounts when you break the news.

There are other issues raised by your post: if your spouse is not working because of a disability, or because he has been taking care of the home and kids, etc., you should anticipate the possibility of paying him spousal support. Any potential award would be impacted to some extent by a history of domestic violence, which your post also suggests, but it is something to keep in mind.

Best of luck to you.

Re: Division of Property

The division of the house equity would be as follows: any investment of separate property in the house would be repaid to the person contributing. that is as an example, the equity is $250000, and that you contributed $50000 for the downpayment. You would be reimbursed $50000 for your separate the and the remaining $20000 would be divided equally between you. You stated that you are afraid of him. Depending upon the reasons for your being afraid of him you may and probably should obtain a domestic violence restraining order against him. Such an order would require him to immediately leave the family home and stay away from you, your place of employment, the children and their school. You should discuss the specific facts of your case with an experienced family law attorney. You have a lot at stake here, both financially and physicallly.

Re: Division of Property

Retain counsel to consult with. Your investment would likely be returned to you. Increase in value would likely be divided between you. Call to discuss.

Re: Division of Property

You have a lot of issues which need to be fully investigated and you really need to provide further information in order to receive suitable advice.

Suffice to say from the outset - you are not being selfish because you are trying to protect your property rights - you are being responsible!

Based upon the information provided, it appears that you are entitled to reimbursement of the separate property down payments made by you. After reimbursement, your husband will most likely be entitled to participate in the equity.

An even more important issue is your statement that you are afraid of him and the question is WHY? If he is threatening or physically abusing you then you need to take immediate steps to protect yourself and your children and the property issues should be placed second in line. I strongly urge you to take such action.

There are other issues which you will need to consider including child custody/visitation,child support, spousal support and even possibly attorney's fees. I say this because you have indicated that your husband does not contribute to the expenses. Why doesn't he? Is he disabled? Is he unemployed? If so, did he leave his job or was he fired?

As you see, there are many issues and many questions. In order to protect your rights, I strongly advise that you retain the services of a competent family law attorney - it may make all the difference for you.

In any event, please make sure you take steps to protect yourself and your children.

Regards, Damian Nolan