If my husband has all of our assets in his name, what rights do I have to them?
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If my husband has all of our assets in his name, what rights do I have to them?
My husband has put all our big financial purchases in his name. At the time I was told he was doing this because my credit wasn’t as good as his, so we would be better off having our house and our cars in his name only (or in his and his parents’ names only). Now he has filed for divorce and he is telling me I have no rights to our house, he took my car away and sold it, and he has not allowed me to access any of our bank accounts, so I have no money. I am currently unemployed but when I was employed all my checks were auto deposited into an account that had his name only. He paid all bills.
Asked on September 5, 2011 under Family Law, Colorado
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your situation. You live in a Community Property state as I am sure that you know and all marital assets are split 50/50. Now, the general rule is that all purchases made during a marriage are considered to be marital property regardless of whose name the asset is legally held in. So the house, the cars, the bank accounts - are all yours as well as his. One would need to look at the property purchased with his parents as I would ask a judge to consider setting aside the interest of his parents as a it appears they are named to circumvent the law on marital property. But you are going to need help from an attorney. There is no doubt about that. So if you can borrow from your family or go and seek help from legal aid - what ever or who ever it is - get help. Start by asking that the bank accounts be frozen. If he has no access that will force his hand. Good luck to you.
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