I am looking for a divorce case that had to do with the $$ in a property split and it involved morrismarsdn?

Question

I have heard that there was a case of morris marsden that came up with a way to calculate the amount of $$$ that one person had coming to them from a divorce settlement. I own a home that I purchased before marriage but had put my spouse on title in 2002 to refinance. He never went off and now wants money from the house in our divorce. He had been put on title before to refinance 3 times but was always taken off after. I am trying to figure out what if any $$ is he intitled too.

Answer 1

Basically, any property that either spouse owns prior to the marriage becomes marital property upon marriage—-regardless of whose name in on the title. The divorce court will equally divide all marital property before issuing a divorce order.



Generally, the way to exclude a house from marital property is with a prenuptial agreement where the spouses specifically agree to exclude certain property from marital property. Or if a spouse is able to prove that the property was completely separate from the marital home and no marital funds were used to maintain this separate property (this includes mortgage payments, taxes, utilities bills, maintenance). Basically, even if Husband lived in the house and never paid any bills, he is-—generally-—entitled to half the equity of that house.



This is a very basic rule which may not be true in your state. (But most likely this is the law in your state because you are looking for one exceptional case, instead of many cases). So, I advise you to talk to a family lawyer licensed in your state. You and your lawyer can devise an exit strategy. You may have other bargaining chips, such as his retirement or pension, to negotiate for what you want. Just because he wants half of your house, does not necessarily mean he will get it.



If you really want to find that Morris Marsden case, try www.lexisone.com, www.findlaw.com, or www.lawguru.com . Also visit your state-court’s website; some courts publish and archive their opinions on their website.





Good luck.



Sharmil McKee, Esq.

Philadelphia, Pa

http://www.mckeelegal.com

Answer 2

You are referring to the Moore/Marsden rule, which is based on two California cases discussing the formula to calculate the split of equity for a property that was acquired by one spouse prior to the marriage. When the residence is purchased before marriage, the separate property interest "should have the benefit of ... appreciation in the value of the property before the marriage".



You REALLY need an experienced divorce attorney to properly. By adding your husband to the title, you may have converted your separate property into a gift of community property. Although I am a California attorney, I do not practice family law and I am not qualified to give you a definitive answer to your question.



Below, I have provided the case citations for the Moore and Marsden cases and a law librarian can show you where to look up both cases.