Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina
Want to make smart moves...don't know where to start
My husband is an alcholic. I knew that he had problems before we got married (but he promised he was a changed man). We have now been married for 4 years. I can not count the nights I have layed awake wondering when/if he would come home. He managed to flip our car, that we received as a wedding present, while drunk driving. He was able to pass the breathalizer because it was administered several hours after the accident. Now that I have told you my sad story...my question is if I file for divorce on grounds of alchol and drug abuse (which there have been both) do I need to have documentation of these acts?
My other question is about the car we received as a wedding present. The car was purchased by my father-in-law several days before our wedding. The car title was in my name, until my husband and I had a falling out last year, but I signed it over to my husband. Do I have any right to the car now, since it is not in my name?
Can you suggest a lawyer in the Myrtle Beach area?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Want to make smart moves...don't know where to start
In South Carolina you usually need corroboration of the grounds for divorce, such as habitual drunkenness due to the habitual use of alcoholic beverages or drugs or a combination thereof, thus you would need some proof other than your own testimony to establish your gounds. Normally, property acquired prior to the marriage is presumed to be non marital property, but it may be transmuted into marital property, even though it is titled in only one spouse's name. Also, gifts are presumed to be non marital property. I would argue that the auto was a gift to both of you, and given the lenghth of the marriage the auto has transmuted into marital property, and you probably have a good claim to an interest in the car. I'm sorry, but I do not know any attorneys in the Myrtle Beach Area.