Q: Do I have any legal recourse to be repaid my inheritance that my ex took?
Do I have any legal recourse in getting my inheritance back from my exhusband in our divorce. While married I received a sizable inheritance that he borrowed/took and purchased himself a car, motorcycle and spent approximately 50k shopping. The motorcycle and car are in his name only.
A:
Like many things, it depends. It depends on whether you were aware he was using it, depends whether the funds were commingled with marital funds, depends on if the assets are still around... anything purchased during the marriage is marital even if it's in only one person's name. You probably will need an attorney to help you sort this out.
Good luck!
A: The general answer is no. If your inherited funds were spent during the marriage, you have accepted that as part of your marriage. That being said, through the process of equitable distribution, you would still be entitled to half of the value of the remaining assets (the car and the motorcycle). In addition, depending on the size and contents of your marital estate, you may be able to justify to the court a basis for unequal distribution. For example, if you have a house with $100,000.00 in equity and you want to keep the house, but do not have $50,000.00 to buy him out, you may be able to convince a judge that giving you the house based upon your contribution of your non-marital inheritance is equitable under the circumstances. Florida law presumes equitable distribution and convincing a judge to unequally divide assets is always an uphill battle. I suggest you consult with an experienced divorce attorney to discuss all of the other factors to determine if this is something you should pursue.
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