My ex-husband and I have been divorced for 20 years, after being married for 11 years. We separated and he went to Georgia to file for divorce, stating in the decree that there was no marital property to divide. We actually have a marital home in North Carolina that we lived in for about five years before we lived overseas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apparently he tried to sell the home and discovered that he could not because I am on the deed \u2014 although I am not the loan. He finally reached out to me to propose that I sign off on a 70%-30% split since he has covered all of the expenses for the home over the past 20 years.\u00a0 He has been renting the home out and taking all of the tax allowances all of this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any advice that you might have is appreciated. What can I do to expect a 50-50 split?<\/p>\n
Divorced 20 Years<\/p>\n
Related: <\/strong>My husband and I divorced after 17 years of marriage. He sold our home at a significant profit. Am I entitled to my share?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ask not what you can do to expect a 50-50 split from your ex-husband, but instead tell your ex-husband what he can do with his offer of a 70-30 split.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s marvelous about your story is that 20 years after your divorce, your husband has given you a gift \u2014 he\u2019s given you one final reminder of why it was a good idea to break up. He took \u201cownership\u201d of this home, which you both owned, and maintained it for that period of time. He then attempted to sell the house without your knowledge \u2014 until he realized that it was impossible because you were on the deed, despite your having been divorced for 20 years.<\/p>\n Obviously, it would have been ideal to divide all of your assets during your divorce, but this house has likely increased significantly in value over that time. You don\u2019t mention mortgage payments, so I presume the mortgage is now paid off, and your husband either made a profit or broke even on the rental income. Either way, the rental income and tax deductions likely more than paid for the expenses over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a home you own together, so I am confused as to why he attempted to sell it without your knowledge. I have two theories: He either believed, erroneously, that you were on the loan but not on the deed of the home \u2014 it turned out to be the other way around \u2014 or he thought that time + distance = a quiet payday for him. Either way, I\u2019m not sure what he did was on the up-and up. But you are on the deed, not on the loan, so he has no leverage.<\/p>\n So here\u2019s what I would like you to write in an email: \u201cOn the one hand, I do appreciate that you took care of the house. On the other hand, the house produced rental income, so it either paid for itself or you made a profit, and you also took a tax writedown on all of those expenses. So I suggest a 50-50 split.\u201d Once you\u2019ve gotten that out of your system, delete that email and simply tell him: \u201cA 50-50 split seems fair and equitable, all things considered.\u201d If he balks, suggest filing a partition action.<\/p>\n You will also face a capital-gains tax when you sell. For the 2023 tax year, you are not subject to capital gains taxes if your taxable income is $44,625 a year or less as a single person, according to Bankrate.com. If you earn between $44,626 and $492,300 a year as a single filer, expect to pay 15% on a $250,000 profit. Above those levels, the capital gains rate would be 20%. (Your ex-husband also likely claimed rental-property depreciation.)<\/p>\n All\u2019s fair in love and divorce, but not always in marriage. I\u2019ve received letters from people who were either confused about whether their name was on the deed or loan, or wondered if they were outright deceived. I hope this is not emblematic of what goes on in marital finances. But that\u2019s why we have community-property laws, according to which anything acquired during a marriage belongs to both parties, and equitable-distribution laws, under which property is divided fairly, if not equally.\u00a0<\/p>\n The accumulation of marital property typically ends when one or both parties file for divorce; how you would have divided property during your marriage would have depended on where you filed for divorce, among other factors. For example, if your husband paid for a house during your marriage out of an inheritance \u2014 considered separate property \u2014 he would likely own it outright if your name was not on the deed. But your name is on the deed, so you are co-owners.<\/p>\n If your ex-husband did try to pull a fast one, his attempt backfired. If he\u2019s an honest Joe, I still suggest rewarding him with 50% of this house.<\/p>\n You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as <\/em><\/strong>Twitter.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Check out <\/em><\/strong>the Moneyist private Facebook<\/em><\/strong> group, where we look for answers to life\u2019s thorniest money issues. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve been living inside a silent divorce\u2019: I want a \u2018kitchen-table\u2019 separation from my husband without lawyers. Is that a good idea?<\/p>\n \u2018I cashed in my retirement account to buy our home\u2019: My husband left me and our two kids and won\u2019t pay the mortgage. What now?<\/p>\n My wife and I bought a beautiful lakeside home for $700,000. It\u2019s now worth $1.2 million. Do we sell now to avoid capital gains?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDear Divorced,<\/strong><\/h2>\n