Can another country divide assets here?

[Cindy0327]

Jurisdiction

Kentucky

Question: Can a divorce in another country divide U.S. assets (home and retirement)? i.e. the country says husband gets house and my name off his retirement, and the U.S. apply that?

Married 11 years, husband has been living overseas for almost 2 years now. He filed divorce overseas in our country and I got notice served here.

House is 75% paid off, jointly titled, but I never paid $1, all was paid by husband. Even when he moved overseas, mortgage and bills are auto drafted from his bank. He is asking for entire house and keep his own money (his retirement and his bank) we don't share banks.

Divorce in our country is not favorable towards women, each side keeps his/her own money, there is no "marital property". Husband gives 6 month support if wife can not support herself.

Talked to many lawyers here, obviously divorce is taking place overseas, but I asked about appealing it here to stop division and everyone either doesn't respond or isn't interested/never dealt with it and don't think they can help or willing to help.

Searching online for aboard divorce seems like he can file there if he meets the (1) requirements there to file (2) I get notice. And the U.S. keeps divorce decision from aboard unless a child is involved and not enough child support is granted, which doesn't apply to me.

don't want to go off topic, but those interested

Before we married, husband made it very clear he was going to move back to our country after he gets done with his job and at the time I said OK. But things changed, my family back home passed or moved to the USA. Daughter (from previous marriage) is Americanized, married, has kids, and not moving back. At the time I had low job (cooking in restaurant) but since then went to community college and have a low but sustaining job ($45K/yr).

Little bit I told him I might still come. He moved thinking I would come, but I didn't, so he wants to move on.

 

[Zigner]

Why do you think it's appropriate to keep the house in this type of situation?

 

[justblue]

Question: Can a divorce in another country divide U.S. assets (home and retirement)? i.e. the country says husband gets house and my name off his retirement, and the U.S. apply that?

Married 11 years, husband has been living overseas for almost 2 years now. He filed divorce overseas in our country and I got notice served here.

House is 75% paid off, jointly titled, but I never paid $1, all was paid by husband. Even when he moved overseas, mortgage and bills are auto drafted from his bank. He is asking for entire house and keep his own money (his retirement and his bank) we don't share banks.

Divorce in our country is not favorable towards women, each side keeps his/her own money, there is no "marital property". Husband gives 6 month support if wife can not support herself.

Talked to many lawyers here, obviously divorce is taking place overseas, but I asked about appealing it here to stop division and everyone either doesn't respond or isn't interested/never dealt with it and don't think they can help or willing to help.

Searching online for aboard divorce seems like he can file there if he meets the (1) requirements there to file (2) I get notice. And the U.S. keeps divorce decision from aboard unless a child is involved and not enough child support is granted, which doesn't apply to me.

Where is the home country?
Where is the house located?
Who is currently living in the house?
Do you have a 401K or other assets accrued during your marriage?

 

[adjusterjack]

If you have $20,000 to throw at this you hire an attorney and file for divorce here and try to convince a judge that the court has jurisdiction because the house and the retirement account is in the US. Slim chance of that and guaranteed to cost lots of money.

Or, free and easy, go for the 6 months support and be done with it.

 

[army judge]

Question: Can a divorce in another country divide U.S. assets (home and retirement)? i.e. the country says husband gets house and my name off his retirement, and the U.S. apply that?

My answer GENERALLY, the outcome is dependent upon MANY things.

Your need is far beyond what a discussion site can provide.

I suggest you HIRE a family law attorney in the state where you reside, MS or KY.

Meanwhile try reading about how:



Family Law Disputes Between International Couples in U.S. Courts



How to Divorce a Spouse Who Lives Outside the US (with Pictures)



Divorce Abroad



Divorce Abroad Legal Issues



How to File for Divorce While Living Abroad



https://www.hg.org/divorcing-someone-living-in-another-state-or-country.html



Married in a Different Country: How Do I Divorce in the U.S.?



Overseas Divorces: Validity of Foreign Country Divorces under New York Law - Rong Kohtz, Esq. - Michigan, New York Attorney

 

[zddoodah]

Can a divorce in another country divide U.S. assets (home and retirement)? i.e. the country says husband gets house and my name off his retirement, and the U.S. apply that?

Sure. If the parties are subject to jurisdiction in that other country, then a court in that country could (assuming its own laws allow) order the parties to do things with assets located in the U.S. If the parties don't comply, they could be subject to contempt. The more difficult question is whether a court in the U.S. would enforce the other country's orders.

Married 11 years, husband has been living overseas for almost 2 years now. He filed divorce overseas in our country and I got notice served here.

What does "in our country" mean? Seems to me like your country, while not expressly identified, is the U.S., while his country is some other unidentified country.

He is asking for entire house and keep his own money (his retirement and his bank) we don't share banks.

A U.S. court would be unlikely to enforce such an order.

obviously divorce is taking place overseas, but I asked about appealing it here

You cannot appeal another country's judgments/orders in a U.S. court.

everyone either doesn't respond or isn't interested/never dealt with it and don't think they can help or willing to help.

I expect that the number of divorce lawyers in Kentucky who are familiar with the enforcement of divorce judgments/orders from other countries is very low, and you will probably end up paying a fairly sizeable hourly rate

I hope that, in the couple of years you and your husband have been separated, you've been preparing to be completely self-supporting.

 

[army judge]

Why do you think it's appropriate to keep the house in this type of situation?

...

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works."

...

 

[Cindy0327]

Why do you think it's appropriate to keep the house in this type of situation?

There isn't a need to keep the house, but under U.S. rules it would define as marital property since it was bought during the marriage and even though I didn't pay any of it, I would get a portion (maybe not half). But divorce in our country, if I didn't pay any, I don't get any.

Where is the home country? Pakistan.
Where is the house located? Kentucky
Who is currently living in the house? Me
Do you have a 401K or other assets accrued during your marriage?

Yes, but it's only a fraction of what my husband accrued during marriage. As said above, our country doesn't count anything as martial assets, I keep mines, he keeps his. In the papers served, he didn't ask for any of mines.

If you have $20,000 to throw at this you hire an attorney and file for divorce here and try to convince a judge that the court has jurisdiction because the house and the retirement account is in the US. Slim chance of that and guaranteed to cost lots of money.

Or, free and easy, go for the 6 months support and be done with it.

Lawyer here said I can't do that since divorce is already filed and I received papers. They said I should have done it before but it's too late now.
I got the sense it would cost a lot of money but no one here knows if it could be divided.
Contacted about 20 lawyer's offices and gave them a little information. 15 took down my info and never contacted back (don't think they are interested). 3 contacted back and said they can't help. 2 met with, one for free wanted $15k retainer but said he doesn't know anything. Another paid $300 consult just for him to say it wasn't for him.

@army judge, I'll check out the links, thanks.

@zddoodah "The more difficult question is whether a court in the U.S. would enforce the other country's orders." That is my question in a nut shell.

"He is asking for entire house and keep his own money (his retirement and his bank) we don't share banks.
A U.S. court would be unlikely to enforce such an order."
Can you justify why? Do you have any links or proof to back that up?

"I expect that the number of divorce lawyers in Kentucky who are familiar with the enforcement of divorce judgments/orders from other countries is very low, and you will probably end up paying a fairly sizeable hourly rate"
Exactly. There is a good size military community here but no one that has dealt with the issue I have. They said they need to hire someone overseas to find out the rules there, etc. Just dollar signs.

I hope that, in the couple of years you and your husband have been separated, you've been preparing to be completely self-supporting.
Well, I was expecting to get a part of the house or his retirement from working during our marriage, but that's not the rules in our country. There isn't any martial assets, mines if mines, his is his. I don't get any of his even though he earned a lot more.