On Divorce

A growing collection of tracks covering the topics of costs in divorce, property division financial concerns, high asset scenarios, pensions, 401K's and more.

Financial Concerns: Not Child Support (Alimony, Property Division, Pensions, Inheritance, 401k etc)

Does Community Property Mean Assets Are Split Evenly?

"I've been married for 31 years, and just recently took a new job and had to bring my marriage license in to get my insurance good for my wife. Come to find out all we had was a decorative copy the minister never sent the paperwork into the state so I guess we're officially not married. How do I get the distinction of being married again?"

Wanted To Get Divorced But The Minister Never Filed The Marriage Certificate (31 years ago)

Caller: "Well, I need a little advice. I got married in Vegas, because of course I did. I never ended up seeing the guy again, now I need to know, how to get divorced so I can get remarried again."

I Got Married In Vegas & Then Never Saw Him Again

Caller: "My wife and I have been married for about 12 years, and when I first met her we lived in a house that she legally owned. It burned to the ground so with the insurance money, her and I were purchasing a house that we currently live in.

My wife's kinda gone down a dark road and blaming me, pretty much kicked me out of my house saying, this is "her house", this is "her inheritance", just going cuckoo, so my question is, is it legal what she did? 

To kick me out of a house that I'm also part owner of which my name is on, because she threatened if I come back she's going to get the police involved and the whole 9 yards.

Luckily we have no kids between the two of us which is nice, so if that is the case, what are my legal grounds as far as the house goes? Am I able to say, 'well fine then you owe me half the equity; buy me out of the house', do I need to tell her to sell the house because that's primarily where her and my grandson live, I'm just kinda like, 'what do I do here'?"

Was It Legal For Her To Kick Me Out of Our House?

Given the popularity of this question at all of our offices, we transcribed Rick's advice on this question into it's own post:

https://www.goldbergjones-sandiego.com/divorce/file-divorce-first/

Caller: "I've been told several times that whomever files first in a divorce has the upper hand, the distinct advantage is that true?"

Danny's follow-up question: " What about the one I always hear, 'whoever leaves the house is never going to get it back'?"

Is it true that whomever files first in a divorce has the upper hand?

Question: "My divorce decree states that my ex-wife is required to  list and sell the home we owned together but she continues to live in the house, and shows no signs of intent to sell or of moving. What can I do to force the issue, or what can I get the courts to do?  Do I need to file something with the courts, what do I need to do to prove she's not abiding by this judgement?"

My Ex Was Ordered to Move Out and Sell Our House But She Won't.

Caller: "So my wife is filing for divorce, and we've got a couple kids and some properties. I work, she doesn't. I haven't engaged a lawyer yet, but her lawyer is telling her that I'm going to have to pay all the legal fees. I'm curious what your thoughts on that are, am I going to have to pay both mine and her legal fees?"

I Work, She Doesn't. Do I Have to Pay Her Legal Fees?

Military Jurisdiction

I'm thinking of leaving my husband. We don't have any kids, but we do own three houses between us. One of them I owned before we got together, and one of them we bought together. The third my dad actually left me when he passed away earlier this year. What do I do?

A Tale Of 3 Houses: Community Property, Separate Property and Inheritance.

Caller: "Prior to my separation from my husband..I found out recently that he co-signed for a $40,000 student loan and I had no idea about it. I didn't even know my son was applying for a student loan, and my question is, am I going to be blind-sided in the courts, and is this going to become marital debt. I didn't make this decision and didn't have anything to do with it, so is it going to bite me in the butt later?"

My Spouse Cosigned A Loan Without Me - Will I be Held Accountable?

"I've been a stay at home mom for 7 years. My husband had a lot of side jobs where he was paid cash.  Will that income be included as part of our property division if there isn't an official record of it?"

Is Under The Table Income Part Of Property Division?

Our founding partner, Rick Jones, stops by KZOK 102.5 to answer family law questions(FOR FREE) from callers.  Our managing attorney in Portland, Oregon, also answers questions on 620 Rip City Radio.
We cover everything from frequently asked questions and some incredibly obscure ones. 

Seattle, WA: (206) 448-1010
Portland, OR: (503) 731-8888  
San Diego, CA: (619) 243-0888

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Does Community Property Mean Assets Are Split Evenly?

Goldberg Jones | Divorce For Men