Q: Can I sue my ex-husband for disposing of my pre-marital personal property?
Left household. Took most of my property but had pre-marital items in garage. Went to retrieve property on an arranged date but ex started claiming what I was taking was his then he called the police. Cops said I will have to wait for court to decide but per my atty. I probably won't get compensated. Now ex says he has thrown everything of mine away. My atty. says small claims won't help me either. Is it true there is no recourse for me?
A:
When you were denied the right to retrieve your property, your attorney should have filed an RFO with a list of the property and ask the court to restrain H from disposing of it while the dispute was settled. It sounds like you already have legal counsel. But I will say that your attorney cannot predict what will happen in Small Claims, the issue is how do you prove what was lost and how do you prove its value? If you had a 1950 MBZ in the garage, it would be easy, but if it was photos and keepsakes, you will never get your full value for them because the Court cannot assess a dollar amount on sentimental value.
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