Married for 20 years
Four children 20, 19, 17 and 12 yrs.old
Worked part time most of the time and don't pay any major bills, don't really know my husband's financial situation and have no will and the house is in his name only because I have bad credit....should I be worried if he decided to leave?
With 4 kids, you should definately look into life insurance so that they are taken care of, at least the younger ones. Now that they are older and less demanding, I would go to school or try to do something more productive with my time that satisfies you. I don't know your relationship, but it does happen to people all the time. Good luck.
As far as the house is concerned, GA law says that it's half yours, no matter if your name is on title or mortgage. You would also be awarded alimony if you get a divorce, so don't worry about that. However, you feel uncomfortable, that should tell you something. I can't give you legal advice, but you should ALWAYS trust your instincts. Take strides to protect yourself financially.
First let me say I am not an attorney but I have worked in the legal arena for many years, mainly on the real estate side of it.
A few questions:
Are all of the children fathered by your husband and mothered by you? In other words, no children from a prior relationship.
Why don't you know your husband's financial situation. You have been married for 20 years. Do you sign the annual IRS filings?
How long ago were your credit problems?
If your husband is the primary breadwinner, your credit does not really factor in that much. Most of the interest rate will go off of his credit rating, not yours, so you could be listed on the deed and just about anything else. The only problem would be if there were a lien against you.
The problem with the home being in his name alone is that he can sell it, mortgage it or whatever else he wants without you having any say in it. Your only protection would be if you filed for divorce before he did do something so the court could keep him from doing this, but he can still have a mortgage with a family member/friend or whomever placed in county records which may or may not be a real mortgage but would have to be taken into consideration with the divorce division of property. So see, you could end up having to pay for a mortgage that the money would essentially go back to your husband.
If you can answer my questions, then maybe I can help you more. You may call me if you like ###-###-####.
We always have to kind of worry...So cover your bottom. Start with getting yourself a stable career. If it means taking classes, or a 12 week training program, so you can have a very stable job...then do it. Then start to work on the credit, which probably aint as bad as you think. Then you will be in the position to handle whatever happens. Most likely, you will get custody of the child, so they might let you stay in the house, at least for a while until you get situated. Just do your best to work on a good paying job, or career....Nursing, Paralegal, Radiology tech, etc... Can't depend on these husbands girl...gotta pray and ask God to show you the way. Take care and God Bless You...You deserve the best I'm sure.
I'm no lawyer (just a wife), but I would think you would be intitled to a % of his income if he decided to leave and file for divorce(as the wife, he would have to pay something to you, plus you have no current income and you have the kids), plus you could request child support for the two younger kids (up to age 21, I believe).
The house would be another issue. By it being in his name, it is his house, unless your name is on the title (the Deed to the house) you are not connected to the house at all and it is solely his....I don't think you would have any claim to the house (I'm not sure). Make sure you know his SS# incase you have to file for anything. I pray you will be ok, good luck.
S., Yes, you should be concerned. You need to know how you will survive if he should leave you or by death. How would you handle the affairs? How will you and the children continue to live? It is only fair that he should let you know the financial affairs if something should happen to him. He need to educate you as to what he would like done in the case of his death. If he has the welfare of you and the children at his best interest he should be willing to share that with you. You should not have to worry about this. You need to know where things are and how you should handle the financial once he is not around. If he does not want to share this information and all else fails, I would hire an investigator to find out if he is hiding anything.
Now is a good time for you to consider setting yourself up financially since the children are older. There maybe several reasons why you have not worked a fulltime job in the past. You may want to think about starting your own business and/or working from home. Im looking for a few key people to work with me and my team to set ourselves up to be financially secure. If you are interested in working from home take a look at my website www.megatreasures.com. Look at the entire video and contact me and let me know if this is something that you may want to look into. Wish you much!
