I need to file for divorce, spouse moved out of NC and I want to file myself but own property and vehicles. Even though spouse agreed verbally over a year ago we had nothing to split, can he contest at the hearing and jeopardize my assets if I don’t take property and vehicles out of my name? I don’t want to do this, but how do I protect myself from him demanding half which I understand is NC state law? Thank you.
If your divorce is granted without settling your property division and/or alimony claims, those claims are lost forever. So, if you file, you need to be prepared for him to file suit for property division (if this would be beneficial to him).
OK I have a question to your reply to part of this question. She wants to take property out of her name and put it in someone else’s to protect her assets.
That is exactly what my husband will do or try to do or already has. It would be very recent to my separation filing date which is asap (due to many faults of his also).
Can he get away with that? Will the timing of the transfer of title be of any importance to the judge when determining what is lawfully mine? Surely the courts don’t make this type of damage, (in most instances, such as mine), Legal. Can you please answer this for me?
Retitling property doesn’t automatically change it’s classification from marital property to separate property. For instance, if your husband had a vehicle in his name, that he purchased during the marriage, and he transferred title to a third party, you would still be able to argue that this was a marital asset. The more difficult issue is identifying all marital assets if he has hidden/retitled things.