Q: Have discussed divorce with my wife, need some clarity.
We have 2 daughters together 5 and 2. I moved into her home about 9 years ago as permanent address. Married in 2014. Shortly after having a joint checking account. The home has more than doubled in value with improvements and market growth. I have talked with a real estate agent and figured the home has about 140,000 in equity. Also she has mentioned that she is going to try to make me look like an unfit father and only allow me to see girls every other weekend. My question is am i entitled to any of the equity of the home. I can get the daycare records showing I do about 80% of the daycare dropoff and pickup. Would this help my case?
A:
You may be entitled to a share of the home's equity under the theory that you contributed to the home either in the form of shared payments to the mortgage, upkeep, maintenance, etc. The calculation would be from roughly the date of marriage forward.
I know this is difficult to do in the heat of the moment, but try not to take everything that a soon-to-be-ex says to heart. Child custody is, unfortunately, often the first weapon people pick up to use against the other; judges know that and see it every day. Be prepared, though; and definitely respond appropriately to every motion or other communication through the courts. The fact of the matter is that you can't split children like you can money and assets. There are 365 days in most years; 50% equals 182.5 days - what does a 0.5 day look like when it comes to children? The point is that custody and parenting time is never equal; what a court looks at is what's fair, and "fair" is not necessarily "equal". That said, it sounds like "fair" in your case may be more than the every other weekend she is talking about.
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