Dallas, TX asked in Criminal Law, Divorce, Family Law and Domestic Violence for Texas

Q: Am I able to sue my c.l.husband, his dad, his friends for stealing , trashing and ruining my belongings while I was out

Of town? Then to keep me from filing criminal charges for what they had done my c.l. husband had sent me pictures of a 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat SRT with the 6.2 supercharged engine in it and told me that it was mine all mine he hoped I loved it. He has refused to give me the title for it all this time and he dropped the insurance coverage on it to liability and then 4 days later right after he had stayed at the house there was a garage fire that melted my car that had 50574 miles on it and was in excellent shape and he is still refusing to give me the title for it as well as the deed to the house that he had also told me numerous times he was giving me . And this was the second house fire he knew the first one was smoldering and he left with me asleep knowing it was smoldering and went to work anyways. He collected over $20,000. For my personal belongings supposedly from that fire that he had kept and paid off the place with which was about twice the amount of more than what he ha

1 Lawyer Answer

A: You can file a divorce proceeding against your husband and include these claims in your divorce proceeding. You should contact an experienced attorney who practices in the area of family law or divorce in or near the county where you and your husband live.

You don't mention exactly how his dad and friends were involved, but if you have evidence they stole, trashed, and ruined your property, you can file a lawsuit against them as well. If the value of your items is $20,000 or less, our justice of the peace courts have jurisdiction over small claims like that, and you do not require an attorney. You will just need to present your witnesses or other evidence of who did what to which of your belongings and how much your belongings were worth.

I note that since your car was apparently parked in the garage when the fire occurred, your homeowners' insurance likely covers the damage or loss of the vehicle. As part of the division of your marital estate, your attorney should ask for the insurance proceeds attributable to the car to be awarded to you and that you be allowed to purchase a replacement vehicle from community funds during the pendency of your divorce proceeding so you can get to and from work.

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