what do you think would happen in this divorce scenario

[Anonymous]

Wife makes $200K/year. Husband makes 145K/year. Wife paid 100% of a 500K deposit on their $1.2 million house, using family money. Except for mortgage the couple is debt-free. They have one kid in elementary school in DC.

Wife's family has money and their support has allowed her to max out 401K, so her retirement savings are about twice husband's.

Wife is just starting to think about separation and hasn't contacted an attorney yet. She's just looking for a general sense of what would be a reasonable distribution of assets.

She wants to keep the home and buy H out, but what's fair in this case, where wife put down 100% of the deposit? They have split all costs (house, family, etc.) in proportion to their salaries, so the house is the only instance in which she's paid for something very big. She put down $500K when they purchased home for 1.1 mil. Now it's worth 1.25-1.3.

They will have 50-50 custody. What will child support for their 4th grader look like in this case?

They have been married for 9 years. Will alimony be required?

Wife's parents have already fully funded the kid's 529 (amazing), so no worries about educational expenses.

Both W & H want to keep things relatively amicable for the kid.

Thoughts on the questions above?

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how she put down 100% or something using family money. If she used family money then half of it was his.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how she put down 100% or something using family money. If she used family money then half of it was his.

Presumably the family money was from her family of origin, not from her and her husband.

[Anonymous]

Assuming no pre-nup or other arrangement that carves out the wife's family's contributions and the house was purchased after marriage and in both of their names, my guess is the house and and increase in retirement accounts from when they got married will be split 50/50.

Higher earner may have to pay some child support, depending on custody time and specific state laws.

[Anonymous]

I want to remind you that what's fair does not always equal what's legal. The origins of your downpayment will be considered differently in different states and you should ask a lawyer what laws apply in DC. I know you want to keep this amicable, but it's always wise to know what you could get if you were to go to court.

[Anonymous]

Higher earner has to pay a bit of child support till child is 18/21. Down payment became marital property because it was mingled when used as the down payment. That will be split 50/50. The increase in equity splits 50/50. Savings/investments/assets that were created with money earned during the marriage all get split 50/50. If some accounts existed prior to marriage, the party that brought those assets might be able to argue that the amount in the account at the time of the wedding remains theirs. Unlikely that the lower earning spouse will get alimony. Child custody split 50/50. One party will have to buy out the other's half of the house or else you sell it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wife makes $200K/year. Husband makes 145K/year. Wife paid 100% of a 500K deposit on their $1.2 million house, using family money. Except for mortgage the couple is debt-free. They have one kid in elementary school in DC.

Wife's family has money and their support has allowed her to max out 401K, so her retirement savings are about twice husband's.

Wife is just starting to think about separation and hasn't contacted an attorney yet. She's just looking for a general sense of what would be a reasonable distribution of assets.

She wants to keep the home and buy H out, but what's fair in this case, where wife put down 100% of the deposit? They have split all costs (house, family, etc.) in proportion to their salaries, so the house is the only instance in which she's paid for something very big. She put down $500K when they purchased home for 1.1 mil. Now it's worth 1.25-1.3.

They will have 50-50 custody. What will child support for their 4th grader look like in this case?

They have been married for 9 years. Will alimony be required?

Wife's parents have already fully funded the kid's 529 (amazing), so no worries about educational expenses.

Both W & H want to keep things relatively amicable for the kid.

Thoughts on the questions above?

The child support and alimony will be determined by formula. That's not THAT huge of a delta. There will be some child support, probably not a huge amount. There may or may not be alimony, depending on the state.

The $500,000 down payment depends on when it was made, but if it was during the marriage, he's going to get half of that in the asset split. He'll also get half of her 401K (and she half of his). The family money stuff is irrelevant, unless there's some prenuptial agreement in place.

She will likely not be permitted to keep the home and buy out the husband, unless he consents to it. He should not consent to it.

The wife's family money might allow her to spend on a bulldog of an attorney if things get acrimonious. And I predict they will, as couples almost always start out saying they want to be amicable for the kid, but when push comes to shove they'll fight. Since she has more resources, she might be able to bully her way to a more favorable settlement. But if he sticks to his guns and fights for what he's owed, he'll probably get it.

Stop talking about the family money in terms of what was procured during the marriage, however. That's completely irrelevant to anything.

[Anonymous]

That $500K “family money” deposit only stays with the wife if it was clearly gifted to her and kept separate. If it was commingled or both names are on the deed and mortgage, congratulations, you bought a marital asset and who the gift was from does not matter at all. Equity gets divided, and buying him out means cutting a real check, not just pointing at your parents’ generosity.

Child support in DC is formula-driven. At $200K vs $145K with 50/50 custody, she’s likely still paying something because she earns more. It won’t be ruinous, but it won’t be symbolic either.

Alimony after 9 years? Possible, especially with an income gap, but typically time-limited. The court cares about lifestyle during the marriage, not who had richer parents. If she wants to keep it amicable, start by assuming this won’t feel “fair,” it’ll feel legal.

[Anonymous]

My assumption is that the both adults are reasonable? Did either H or W make any career choices that limited growth due to being primary caregiver?

[Anonymous]

Unless the parties willingly agree otherwise, the equity in the house will be split 50/50, assuming it’s jointly titled. The amounts in retirement accounts for both that were accumulated during marriage will also be split 50/50. I would assume 50/50 on child custody with the husband getting a small amount of child support.

[Anonymous]

This entirely depends on

1) if the money put down was prior to down marriage

2) if both people have the their name on the deed of the house

If the house is titled in both peoples names, the money has commingled and that will be split 50-50.

If there is and the house is only titled in the woman’s name and there is evidence that the house was purchased before the marriage then it would not be split 50-50.

Someone only gets to keep an inheritance or gift if they don’t commingle the funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless the parties willingly agree otherwise, the equity in the house will be split 50/50, assuming it’s jointly titled. The amounts in retirement accounts for both that were accumulated during marriage will also be split 50/50. I would assume 50/50 on child custody with the husband getting a small amount of child support.

This

[Anonymous]

My thoughts are that if the wife or wife’s family wanted to protect their share of the down payment on the house, they should have done that legally from the outset. But they did not. Maybe in an equitable division state this would be taken into consideration, not sure. But wife needs to offer a reasonable proposal which recognizes that she never protected her money properly. She’s not getting the whole downpayment back but maybe she can recoup some of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Higher earner has to pay a bit of child support till child is 18/21. Down payment became marital property because it was mingled when used as the down payment. That will be split 50/50. The increase in equity splits 50/50. Savings/investments/assets that were created with money earned during the marriage all get split 50/50. If some accounts existed prior to marriage, the party that brought those assets might be able to argue that the amount in the account at the time of the wedding remains theirs. Unlikely that the lower earning spouse will get alimony. Child custody split 50/50. One party will have to buy out the other's half of the house or else you sell it.

Not necessarily true in an equitable distribution state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless the parties willingly agree otherwise, the equity in the house will be split 50/50, assuming it’s jointly titled. The amounts in retirement accounts for both that were accumulated during marriage will also be split 50/50. I would assume 50/50 on child custody with the husband getting a small amount of child support.

This

+1