Never helped with any mortage payments

[IndigoBlue2000]

Location: New Jersey

Hi...I have been married for 14 years and had purchased my home a few years prior to marriage...thru out marriage my wife has always refused to help with mortgage payments or any type of maintance of home, or homeowners insurance etc...basically anything to do with home...her answer was always .."it's your house why should I" even though she has lived in the home...she actually makes more than I do..but just helps with the electric bill, cable bill, car insurance, and garbage disposal bill...these she says she helps with because she uses the service ( but when mad she won't help and since my name and my credit ratting, I have to worry about them) ...she says since the house is in my name she won't help with it...but always says as a threat that if we get divorced she wants half the house...I can show that it has always been myself paying for the house ,since she insists on separate accounts and all payments having been from my checking account or for the last few years direct payment electronically from my account. Even when I was out of work for a few months due to a injury, she would not help and I had to scrape by to make payments...
My Question: In case of a divorce is there anything I can do to protect my house..??

Thank you

 

[army judge]

Location: New Jersey

Hi...I have been married for 14 years and had purchased my home a few years prior to marriage...thru out marriage my wife has always refused to help with mortgage payments or any type of maintance of home, or homeowners insurance etc...basically anything to do with home...her answer was always .."it's your house why should I" even though she has lived in the home...she actually makes more than I do..but just helps with the electric bill, cable bill, car insurance, and garbage disposal bill...these she says she helps with because she uses the service ( but when mad she won't help and since my name and my credit ratting, I have to worry about them) ...she says since the house is in my name she won't help with it...but always says as a threat that if we get divorced she wants half the house...I can show that it has always been myself paying for the house ,since she insists on separate accounts and all payments having been from my checking account or for the last few years direct payment electronically from my account. Even when I was out of work for a few months due to a injury, she would not help and I had to scrape by to make payments...
My Question: In case of a divorce is there anything I can do to protect my house..??

Thank you

You can try to keep the house, but I suspect the greedy SOW will come after it.
New Jersey is an equitable property state.
That means that property acquired prior to the marriage is often excluded from the greedy paws of the one you wish to divorce!
To keep your home, I suggest you retain an attorney, if and when, DIVORCE rears its UGLY head!
From what you've revealed, that time might be now!
You would appear to be far better off without this greedy, selfish, uncaring COW!

New Jersey is an "equitable property" state. This means that all marital property acquired during the marriage should be divided equally. The "marital" property, consisting of any other property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, will be divided equally, unless the court finds that equal division would be unjust. Any property possessed by either spouse during the marriage is presumed to be marital property unless it can be shown that the property is actually separate property. A court can determine the rights of the spouses in any pension or retirement plan or their rights under any insurance policy.

How is property divided at divorce?

It is common for a divorcing couple to decide about dividing their property and debts themselves, rather than leave it to the judge. But if a couple cannot agree, they can submit their property dispute to the court, which will use state law to divide the property.

Division of property does not necessarily mean a physical division. Rather, the court awards each spouse a percentage of the total value of the property. (It is illegal for either spouse to hide assets in order to shield them from property division.) Each spouse gets items whose worth adds up to his or her percentage.

* Equitable distribution. Assets and earnings accumulated during marriage are divided equitably (fairly). In practice, often two-thirds of the assets go to the higher wage earner and one-third to the other spouse. Equitable distribution principles are followed everywhere except the community property states listed just below.

How do we distinguish between marital and non-non-marital property?

Very generally, here are the rules for determining what's Marital property and what isn't:

* Marital property includes all earnings during marriage and everything acquired with those earnings. All debts incurred during marriage, unless the creditor was specifically looking to the separate property of one spouse for payment, are marital property debts.
* Non-marital property of one spouse includes gifts and inheritances given just to that spouse, personal injury awards received by that spouse, and the proceeds of a pension that vested (that is, the pensioner became legally entitled to receive it) before marriage. Property purchased with the separate funds of a spouse remain that spouse's separate property. A business owned by one spouse before the marriage remains his or her separate property during the marriage, although a portion of it may be considered Marital property if the business increased in value during the marriage or both spouses worked at it.
* Property purchased with a combination of separate and marital funds is part marital and part non-marital property, so long as a spouse is able to show that some separate funds were used. Non-marital property mixed together with marital property generally becomes marital property.

Who gets to live in the house during the divorce?

If children are involved, the parent who spends the most time with the kids, or provides their primary care, usually remains in the marital home with them. If you don't have children and the house is the separate property of just one spouse, that spouse has the legal right to ask the other to leave.

If, however, you don't have children and you own the house together, this question gets tricky. Neither of you has a legal right to kick the other out. You can request that the other person leave, but he or she doesn't have to. If your spouse changes the locks, or somehow prevents you from entering the home, you can call the police. The police will probably direct your spouse to open the door. When you both own the home, the only time you can get your spouse to leave is if domestic violence has been committed and a judge grants a restraining order.


http://www.njdivorceonline.com/njpages/MaritalProperty/prop and debt div.asp

 

[IndigoBlue2000]

Thank you for the answer...
Another question came to mind in that, as I mentioned she keeps her money sepearte from mine by direct deposit into her checking account..over the years she has amassed a good amount...but I found out recently she wired a considerable sum (40,000 +) over to her brother in Europe with out ever discussing it with me..when I questioned her about it, her answer was that it is her money and she loaned it to him and he is paying her interest on it more than a bank would( no legal agreement in writing) , I really think it is just her way of hiding it. She also opened up a account with her mother who has no input into it, she doesn't even live in USA but has a green card. If a divorce was to occur...could I force her to account for all the money from over the years we have been married that she has kept seperate and not put into the marriage, there has to be a paper trail thru her bank records. She just likes to spend, on all sorts of junk. Or how could I even force her to make her earnings available for everyday bills..?? She just has them directly deposited into her account with her having soul access to it...would a judge even take any of this nonses into account...??
Again thanks for the help

 

[Proserpina]

Short answer is NOPE.

It was up to you to request that she account for whatever money she has spent, and organize your finances the way you wanted them to work.

The courts won't want to get involved in your household finances. They won't do what was basically your job.

(By the way - how does the Mother In Law have a green card without living in the US?)