Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Rhode Island

Re: Divorce settlement: Co-Own boat; now we want sole ownership

If the ex is willing to agree to give up her share of the boat in exchange for absolution of her past due maintenance obligations that is the way to go. Any agreement that can be made out of court is usually the best agreement. The form would be a written modification of the original agreement that gave each a share of the sailboat which was most likely a property settlement agreement ("PSA") entered into as part of the divorce. A modification of this document should be done by a lawyer who has been given a copy of the original.

If the ex is unwilling and failing to maintain the boat as agreed then I am assuming your fianc� is picking up the slack and paying the mortgage and the maintenance. Hopefully the agreement was in fact contained in a property settlement agreement that was incorporated and not merged into the final divorce decree. If this is the case then the PSA stands as a contract that can be sued upon separate from the divorce and best of all outside of family court. In that case you would sue for breach of contract seeking reimbursement of all costs expended by your fianc�, which you would settle as an offset from her interest in the boat- i.e. from the sale, which is your original intent. If this sounds complicated, it is because it is. This is not something that can or should be handled without a lawyer. Feel free to contact me if you wish to pursue this matter.