Q: Can my sister get half of the money from a house that was sold by her separated husband behind her back in divorce?
My sister is currently going through a terrible divorce, the man cheated and disappeared for 4 years after a 20 year marriage leaving my sister to take care of their house for 4 years straight. She handled all the bills (with his money from their joint bank account) but told him before everything even though he didn’t care(was doing drugs and off with his new gf). She left the house after 5 years being there along because he tricked her into it and made excuses so she went to stay at her friends. My sister has Lupus and had a flare up the past year and a half and hasn’t been in good health so he got a lawyer and started divorce. She’s ok with it, first day of court went great for her (she has no lawyer yet) b she found out he had been lying about selling their house, he told her he was renting it for extra income but turns out he sold it 1/31/2018 and lied about it. What can she do?
A: Your post makes ownership of the house unclear. If the house was owned by the husband alone, and there was no pending divorce, he can sell it.
A: Your question depends on which state this is all taking place in. I cannot tell you about PA law. In NY however, if the house was purchased during the marriage she is entitled to part of the proceeds in the divorce. Even if it was purchased before the marriage she may be entitled to part of the increase in value between the time of the marriage and sale. These are things she needs to discuss with her lawyer once she gets one. Shoe should also discuss retaining an attorney and his making a motion for the husband to pay the fees or at least some of the fees.
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