Do my husband have any claim to my house if we divorce?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Do my husband have any claim to my house if we divorce?
I bought my grandmother’s house years after she passed, then years later I got married. Now the marriage is over but my husband won’t leave. He says that he is not leaving and that he wants me to leave.
Asked on April 26, 2019 under Family Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
No, he does not: the home predated the marriage and was acquired without his financial help based on what you write. A spouse only has a claim to assets, including real estate, acquired during marriage or with the spouse's assets. Assuming you did not put him on the deed/title (see below), it is your house, not his: while you cannot remove him from the home while still married, you will keep the house in divorce and will be able to remove him during or after the divorce.
Note that if you did put him on the title, then you made him a co-owner of the home; if you did this, then he does have an equal claim to the house as you, because you gave him that claim in putting him on the title.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.