Keeping the house and temp support

[luckiwondr]

Jurisdiction

Florida

November 2019: We started a cleaning business. I gave him the start up money and helped him run and operate the business everyday since (including present day).
September 2020: We combine our money and purchased a house in my name. (since his credit report prevented him from being on the mortgage and title. The house is still in my maiden name to present day). Mortgage lender does not know I am married yet.
February 2021: We got married.
September 2022: I got laid off and the cleaning business has been the only source of income and it pays all the bills.

I'm considering a divorce and I'd like to know what my options are... I want to keep the house, a few pieces of furniture, electronics and personal effects. Everything else he can have. The truck he drives is in my name, he can have that if he wants. I also want continued support to pay bills until I can get a job (if even that means I continue working in the cleaning business in the meantime).
Not sure if this helps: reason for divorce is repeated infidelity and physical abuse upon discovery. There is proof and witnesses.

 

[army judge]

I'm considering a divorce and I'd like to know what my options are.

Florida divorce laws determine how your property will be split.

Florida is not a community property state. Like the majority of states, Florida follows equitable distribution rules.

A small group of states adhere to community property principles, but Florida is not one them.

Under an equitable distribution approach, your marital property will be divided equitably or fairly, but not necessarily equally. Often, equitable division doesn't result in a 50/50 split.

Florida judges consider several factors when dividing property, including:

@ each spouse's income and earning potential

@ the length of the couple's marriage

@ the number of minor children at home

@ whether one spouse made career sacrifices for the other spouse's education or job

@ each spouse's debts and assets

@ each spouse's overall physical and mental health, and
any other relevant factor.

After considering the above factors, a judge will make a property determination that meets the needs of both spouses and serves the best interests of the couple's children The Best Interests of the Child: Factors Judges Consider in Deciding Custody , if any.

The nature of your property (whether its marital or separate) can impact how it's divided in your divorce. Marital property belongs to both spouses and will be divided accordingly. Typically, separate property is owned by one spouse and that spouse will receive it in a property settlement. However, Florida judges can award all or portions of a spouse's separate property to the other spouse if a judge determines that it would be fair.

Before dividing property in a divorce, a couple must determine whether either spouse owns any of the property separately. Separate (or nonmarital) property is generally not subject to division in a Florida divorce. Property is considered separate if one spouse owned before the marriage or acquired it during the marriage as a gift (not including gifts from the other spouse) or an inheritance. Separate property also includes:

= assets and debts a couple defines as separate property in a valid written agreement (a premarital agreement, for example)

= income from separate property, unless the spouses have treated the income as marital property, by "commingling" it, for example (see below), and

= items exchanged for or purchased with separate property.


Unless a couple has a valid written agreement stating otherwise, marital property in Florida includes all assets and debts either spouse acquires during the marriage. Spousal rights in Florida allow spouses to share marital assets and debts, even if the property or debt is titled only in one spouse's name. For example, if your spouse opens a credit card account and your name is not on it, you are still jointly responsible for the charges on the card, even if your spouse did all the spending (unless a court finds that your spouse wasted assets or hid the account from you).

Assets include money, property, and retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, deferred compensation, or profit-sharing accounts. Benefits are marital property whether they are "vested" or not (meaning whether the right to receive the benefits is absolute or depends on some future condition, such as continuing to work for a certain number of additional years).

If you or your spouse accrued benefits both before and during marriage, you may need to consult an attorney to find out what portion is marital property. You may also need an opinion about the value of the benefits from a financial advisor. See Fla. Stat. § 61.076 (2020).

A spouse can change separate property into marital property (essentially making a gift of separate property to the other spouse) by changing the title into a form of joint ownership. This is called a transmutation of property. A Florida court will presume that any property a couple owns as "tenants by the entireties" is marital property, even if one spouse acquired the property separately before marriage. Convincing a court to treat such property as separate will be difficult, if not impossible.

The increase in value of separate property during the marriage is also marital property if it resulted from the contribution of marital funds or the active efforts of either spouse. This includes efforts such as maintaining a home, or working in a business.

A spouse can also make a gift of separate property to the marriage by mixing it with marital property—sometimes called "commingling." There are many ways this can happen—depositing marital funds into a premarital bank account, for example, or paying the mortgage on a separate property with marital earnings. In this kind of situation, a court might treat all of the property as marital. The spouse claiming that part of the property is separate would have to trace the separate source of the funds using detailed financial records. These situations can be very complicated and usually require the assistance of an attorney.

How Is Property Divided?
Couples can reach agreements about dividing property either on their own or with the help of a mediator. Courts generally uphold such agreements as long as they are in writing and each spouse has had an opportunity to consult with an independent attorney. If a couple can't reach an agreement, a judge will decide.

As stated above, assets are usually divided equally; however, the judge can make an unequal division after considering all of the relevant circumstances, including the following:

the length of the marriage
each spouse's overall economic circumstances
the desirability of allowing the couple's minor children, or either spouse, to continue living in the marital home
each spouse's contributions, including improvement of marital or nonmarital assets and contributions to the marriage either as an income-earner or as a parent or homemaker
whether either spouse interrupted a career or education during the marriage or contributed to the other spouse's career or education
each spouse's debts and liabilities, and
whether either spouse intentionally wasted or destroyed marital assets either after the divorce petition or within the two years preceding it.
Another factor court's consider is the difficulty of dividing certain assets. For example, in most cases a judge would try to award a business started by one spouse during the marriage entirely to that spouse and award other property or money to the other spouse to make up for the marital interest in the business.

A court won't divide up a home and award each spouse part of it, but might order the couple to sell the marital home and divide the proceeds. If a marital home is the couple's only major asset, a judge might also order the couple to wait until some future date to sell the home and divide the proceeds, and award one spouse a temporary right to live in the home. This is a particularly common result when the couple has minor children still living in the home.

If you have additional questions, contact a local attorney for legal advice and guidance!!!!


Equitable Distribution of Property in Florida
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Florida Community Property Laws
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[zddoodah]

November 2019: We started a cleaning business. I gave him the start up money and helped him run and operate the business everyday since (including present day).

The start of this paragraph should have been, "Before my husband and I were married. . . ."

Is the business a sole proprietorship? A partnership? A corporation/LLC? Something else?

I want to keep the house

How much equity does the house have?

I also want continued support to pay bills until I can get a job (if even that means I continue working in the cleaning business in the meantime).

For a 27-month old marriage, you are unlikely to be awarded any significant alimony/spousal support.

I suggest you confer with a local divorce attorney ASAP.