More Problems

[TPK]

Does it matter at all that she signed title over to me originally for $1.00??

She paid for the car, I didn't. But legally I own it. She can present documents showing she paid for it.

I hadn't considered me getting a % of the car's value in a final reward of property. This sure sounds inviting. Good thing you brought this up.

Is it common to whack-up the value of a car in a final reward of property?

How much of that $7K could I ask for?....1/2??

Thanks for your time with this Soc, your help is always appreciated.

TPK

[socrateaser]

All of your facts are relevant to whether you should receive any interest in  the vehicle. NY is a "separate property" jurisdiction, which means that each spouse is in control of their separate earnings and assets during marriage. However, at divorce, the court has authority to determine the intent of the parties and divide their assets and liabilities in an "equitable" manner (fair).

So, it really boils down to the facts. You say she sold you the car for $1.00. Why? What benefit did she receive, and how much was it worth? If she received a benefit greater than $1.00, then why shouldn't you be reimbursed for providing that benefit?

The answer to that question is USUALLY that the benefit she received was actually a gift, eminating from your love for one another. But, as the size of the gift increases as a percentage of the spouses' total net worth, the court begins to scrutinize whether a gift of that size is really likely under the circumstances.

And, what this gets to is this question: how much is any asset/debt worth to you vs. the legal fees and costs necessary to obtain the gift.

In my experience, only appreciating assets are really worth fighting for (houses, original artwork and antiquities, securities, etc.), because if you hold them long enough, you may get your money back from the appreciation.

As this is a car, we're talking about, if your attorney thinks that it will cost you more than $1,000 total to get, then I'd say, screw it, because you're definitely not gonna get more than one half of the car, and by the time your divorce is final, the car may be worth no more than $2,000 (breakeven).

Your spouse may even start kicking the doors in if she thinks she's gonna lose.

So, after doing the analysis, it's probably better to just unload the car.

LOL! That will be $500 for my eval!