Omaha, NE asked in Divorce, Estate Planning, Family Law and Real Estate Law for Nebraska

Q: Husband won't put my name on the deed to house. I have been paying towards the mortgage since marriage. What can I do?

Only his name is on the mortgage, he paid on the house for 6 years before we were married. House has appreciated since marriage, we have both put work into it. He makes 50k more a year than I do, but I work FT and stay home with our child 5 days a week. I pay half of all utilities/groceries/family health insurance and 1/3rd of the mortgage/insurance/property taxes. He also refused to help me pay for the medical bills from our son's pregnancy. He has a large savings and I'm in debt from medical bills. What am I entitled to if I file for divorce?

1 Lawyer Answer
Julie Fowler
Julie Fowler
Answered
  • Omaha, NE
  • Licensed in Nebraska

A: Generally, even if only one spouse's name is on the deed, the court will generally consider the home as marital if purchased during the marriage. If one spouse owned the home prior to the marriage, then the Court will generally determine that part of the equity in the home is marital and part is not. The other spouse would only be entitled to a share (usually 50%) of the marital equity in the home.

The same generally goes for other assets, including retirement or other savings. Assets earned or accrued during the marriage are generally considered marital but those that were earned or accrued prior to the marriage are generally not. The other spouse is generally only entitled to a share of the martial portion of these funds or accounts.

In practice, this can become more complicated with concepts such as co-mingling of marital and non-marital funds and earnings on the non-marital portion of an account.

Medical bills for a child or due to the birth of a party's child is generally considered marital.

Every case is different and there are exceptions to general guidelines. You would want to retain an attorney to assist you in a divorce action.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.