Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I have questions regarding community property. When my soon to be ex and I married he was retired and living in a house he had purchased before we married. While living in that house I put $15,000 of my separate money into a remodeling project. He eventually sold the house. Am I entitled to get that $15,000 back?
After we were married for a year my mother passed away and with the money I inherited from her I purchased a house. The contract was in my name only, but the title company put both of our names on the deed. We have both put money into the house but I have put a lot more than he has. I paid cash for house with my inheritance, I paid all the utilities, tax and insurance on the house. He paid nothing. In the divorce can I get back my original investment back and then split 50/50 the amount the house has appreciated in value since the purchase? He is trying to get half of the house.
Retirement. My husband was already retired when we married. I still work. The law regarding retirement being community property was inacted in order to protect the person who did not work and would not have had any retirement if there was a divorce. My husband did not work because he was already retired. Would the court give him half of my retirement under those circumstances?
1 Answer from Attorneys
$15,000
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You would be entitled to a reimbursement claim against his separate property estate for the increase in value that the $15,000 contributed to the house. For all practical purposes, this may be a lost cause because it may be very difficult to show the amount of the increase in value. If you have a letter from a realtor saying "The house is worth $X but if you'd pub $15,000 into it, it would be worth $Y" you would have a pretty good claim. Note that the reimbursement claim is for the increase in value, not the amount actually spent.
Your House
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If you can prove by clear and convincing evidence that your separate property money went into the house, then it will be your separate property. He may claim that you gifted half of it to him by including his name in the refinance papers and there is some case law to support this position. He would be entitled to make a reimbursement claim for the increase in value that is attributable to his contributions. You would claim an offset to his reimbursement claim saying that he had use and enjoyment of the property.
Retirement
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He would be entitled to a just and right (say 50%) share of that part of your retirement that was earned during the marriage. For example, if your retirement was worth $100,000 on the day you married and is worth $120,000 on the day you divorce, then he would be entitled to a portion of the $20,000 increase.
You have significant separate property issues and you should not do this without an attorney. Please hire a good local family law attorney to handle this case for you. Web sites like this are of very limited value on these kinds of issues because we can't gather enough facts from you to make definitive statements.
Good luck!!
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