The only way she could have refinanced the martial home is if she had you sign a Quick Claim Deed given her all rights to do what she wants and you have none(you gave up your rights to the property) so if that happened you gets nothing.
Yes that is what we both did. She is now thinking of asking for alimony but I have explained to her that she already has the equity in her home but she will have to sell which adds up to be a great deal of money.
I do not believe that you have any rights to the marital home/her home nor does your STBX have any rights to your home. The equity in your marital home would be considered a marital asset and is completely separate from alimony, child custody and child support. If you are paying considerably more in child support than the guidelines you may be able to reduce that amount if she is entitled to alimony. I do not know for certain, but without a written agreement, you would need to run the calculator and see what amount you should be paying by the guidelines. It would be a good idea to keep record of all payments made, and any other information such as what assets were split already. Document everything you can.
Just curious, if she currently has an income after over two years, why would she want alimony now? It hasn’t seemed important up until now?
I have been paying $2,000 per month. She said that I should be paying her $3,000 per month. We both used the calculator and my Child Support was well under $1,500. So far we have not written any agreement at all and with now looking like divorce will happen I need to get a few things cleared up. I was okay with everything since I thought we were just giving each other a break with the hope that we would get back together and not go thru with the divorce. Out kids are 17 and 14. I make around $100,000 and she makes around $54,000. She carries the kids on her insurance (about $200 per month) and that is all we have.
If this were me…I would pay the amount that the guidelines state. You can send her a letter of intent to decrease the amount you are paying her in accordance with the child support guidelines. This is not illegal since you are paying what the guidelines state. You could offer to increase this amount and cover or pay 1/2 the insurance. I’m not sure that alimony is a factor but I could be wrong. I always just assumed that alimony was for a dependant spouse with no income, instead of someone making over 5k a year. I could be wrong…maybe an attorney will respond on that part.
It really would be in your best interest to have an agreement drawn up to make sure that things like visitations and college are covered. If you read some of the other posters on here you’ll see that sometimes the details can get ugly…just a suggestion. They have divorce kits at places like Office Depot and there are forms and a sample agreement on the home site here. This will save money on an attorney and aggrivation of going to court. If your ex wants to argue about the $$, have her run the calculator herself. She can go to www.ncchildsupport.com and find all the information there.
Even if you signed the deed over to your Wife you still have a marital interest in the equity that existed in the home on the date that you separated. The title of the property does not matter. The only way you could have impacted this right is if you signed a contract giving her a gift of your portion of the equity in the residence, or if the divorce has been finalized.
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax
10925 David Taylor Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax
1829 East Franklin Street, Bldg 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.321.0780 main phone
919.787.6668 main fax
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
We are currently separated (over two and half years). I was told to move out so bought a home and had my wife sign a doc so I could buy it on my own. She then wanted to refinance our home and asked that I also sign a doc so she could refinance the home without me on the deed. We have no separation agreement and have not filed any divorce paperwork. I pay a monthly amount far beyond what is called for with two kids. My leagl question is that since it now looks like there will be no going back and working things out when we split the assets do I still have a right to the equity in our first home and she had the same right to the equity in my new home. I am all for just spltting everything but there is a much greater amount of equity in our first home that now I wonder if I still have a right to half. Again we have no docs signed or even drawn up at this point. Thanks