matremonial home

[ohabli]

hello
- married for 14 years
-have 4 kids
-house wife with no income
-husband owns a duplex, fully paid off
-lived in the duplex for 13 years untill last aprill we moved to a rental house, as my musband turned the basement apprtment of the duplex as a clinic ( he is a dentist), he said that once renovations are done, or we move back to the upper apprtment of the duplex or we buy a new house
-we kept our duplex address on all of our documents, as the rental house was only temperory till or we move back or we buy a new house
- now we are coming to a seperation and he beleives that i should not have any of his assets, and that i shoug go back to my family to support me

--does the duplex count as the matremonial home???
FYI, last night he took his cloth and some dishes and a sleeping bag and went to sleep in the upper appartment as it is empty.

can i move back there ???
is he able to kick me out as it is only under his name??

Please i need help, i tried to get legal aid but got denied as they said that we own a property and there is no abuse. i cant afford a lawyer as i have no income and my husband closed all joint accounts and even took the car keys from me, even dough he has hes own car as well

Thank you in advance

[blinkandimgone]

No, he can`t kick you out, the matrimonial home belongs to both of you, regardless of whose name is on the title. Yes, you can move back in there from the rental, assuming there is no restraining order to prevent you from doing so.

Do a search for 'equalization' and you'll find lots of info about property division and your rights.

[billm]

You get half of all things acquired or appreciated during the marriage.

You also get half the matrimonial home (if that is not covered above).

You don't have access to a car, and you have four kids? He took the keys to YOUR car?

Things will not go well for him if he continues this way.

To be blunt, you need to stand up for yourself - get your keys back, get a lawyer and an immediate court action for support if he will not give you money.

If you prove to the lawyer that you have marital assets, they may take you on without the cash retainer.

He may have legitimate misconceptions about what happens after separation regarding money and assets, but he has to find out (he may ignore advice he receives).

It is simple - he has to support you and his kids, and half of everything (except the value he brought into the marriage) is yours, including the value of his business.

[ohabli]

so even though we were renting since last april, the duplex is still the matrimonial home?

[ohabli]

he is very tricky, i know that if i take him to court i wont be getting much from him, he owns a business and he allready played with hes own salary, he decreased it for that he does not have to pay any allimony support or any child support, and if he would he would pay such a mininum amount. i am not into his money but what i most care about is the home.

i over heard that he is planing or to put the duplex under his brother name or to actually put it under the clinic name.

[standing on the sidelines]

he cant put it in his brothers name now, the courts would not look favourably on him doing that.

[slughead10]

i think the duplex would be considered an income property making it an asset rather then a matrimonial home....he has moved out of where you are renting and not forced you to leave i don't think you can move with him as you already have a rental. he will be responsible to pay you money for child support and spousal as well if you are entitled. best bet see a lawyer

[ohabli]

defenetion of matrimonial home
every property in which a person has an interest and that is or, if the spouses have separated, was at the time of the separation ordinarily occupied by the person and his or her spouse as their family residence”.

so i am worried that it does not qualify as a matrimonial home anymore

[billm]

Originally Posted by ohabli

defenetion of matrimonial home
every property in which a person has an interest and that is or, if the spouses have separated, was at the time of the separation ordinarily occupied by the person and his or her spouse as their family residence”.

so i am worried that it does not qualify as a matrimonial home anymore

Why are you worried - is it because you want to move back there, or because you want to make sure you get half?

If it is a duplex etc, it may not be the best place for you anyway.

You OWN half of everything - it does not matter if his name is on title, it does not matter if he transfers it to his brother or to the clinic (which you also OWN). By own, I mean the you are entitled to half the value of it at time of separation.

He CAN'T reduce his salary to avoid CS/SS - that simply does not work and you (if you have the wherewithal), or a competent lawyer can easily defeat those moves in court AND make him pay for the court costs.

Don't let him tell you what is going to happen.

By what you say he is being difficult - don't let that stop you from getting what is yours.

Again, you are LEGALLY entitled to half the value of everything acquired during the marriage (debts and assets), you get CS based on his REAL income (ie the income he receives, or the income of his company which ever is greater). Also you are dependent on him currently, so you are also entitled to SS - but you need to make plans to be self sufficient in the long run.

So READ READ READ this forum, and elsewhere to understand family law, and what happens when bad spouses misbehave. Don't let him intimidate you - it should all be easy - dividing by 2 and figuring out someones income should be easy - if he makes it hard, you can make it hard on him using the legal system!!

[limer]

I'm on legal aid, and did own property. What you need to do is go back to legal aid. You've no income. I had to sign papers with legal aid where I was on title, and Legal Aid put a secured lien against the property. They did search on properties for where I was title, and hence put a secured lien against the properties. On the outset.... I would declare the duplex as a matrimonial home. He has a good job. What you don't elude to is where are the kids living. If I'm correct, they are with him for the moment. If so, he's trying to establish status quo for custody while putting you out on the streets. Call a few lawyers and readdress legal aid. Put it all in writing as best as you can so that you don't get confused when communicating. Good luck... he's trying to exercise all the control he can.