Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina
Foreclosure and Bankrupcy
My wife and I separated Jan. 6, 2004. She claims to be filing separation documents and filing for a ''no-fault'' divorce, though to date I have not recieved either document. I signed a QuickClaim deed for the house since I have moved out of state (Va). Now I find out that she is planning on foreclosing on the house and is not paying the mortgage which I am still jointly responsible. Thus my credit will destroyed. Also, I brought personal debt into the marriage which she paid off using her credit cards which are only in her name. since she is also planning on filing for bankrupcy, she is not making the credit card payments although I am still sending her money to make the payments. I do not know where the money is going. Am I responsible to continue sending the money and what can I do to protect my credit from her actions? I am totally lost as to what to do! Thank you!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Foreclosure and Bankrupcy
A divorce in North Carolina can not be requested from the Court unless the parties have been separated for one year. If you separated in January 2004 the two of you have only been separated for about one and 1/2 months. It seems unlikely that she has filed for divorce, but if she has she may prevail if you fail to respond to any divorce complaint. If divorce is granted before you have filed a claim for property distribution or post-separation support/alimony from the court you will lose those claims.
Your question, though, mainly addresses issues of separate and marital property, debts, and asset distribution. The marital and separate property and debts would normally be divided in equitable distribution. The court would determine which debts are paid by either of you and who should be entitled to the property. In order to ensure that your claims and rights are preserved it would be beneficially for you to contact an attorney immediately regarding your next step or you may be stuck with debts that should have been allocated to her. As you have already seen, signing a Quitclaim deed for the property for which you still are indebted did not help your position any.
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