House usage
October 10, 2010 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Tobias Rösemeier
Hello,
we have been living separately in our 3-family house for 8 months (50:50 ownership). We have 3 full floors with separate entrances, which were 95% paid for by me. The house is divided into condominiums, with my wife on the lower floor in the best apartment with a cellar and winter garden, our children (21, 26) in the middle, and me in the attic (2 rooms). Now my wife has informed me that she could sue me to leave the house after the divorce because:
1. She is from this area (I am 30km away) and she received the property from her mother. I bought an equally sized adjacent property for the same value. Additionally, she is sick, having had a cancer operation 2 years ago (no metastases).
2. I brought a woman to my apartment in the afternoon 4 months ago. She cooked there and my wife smelled the unusual fumes, entered my apartment, and caused a scene. We left 20 minutes later and no one has come over since. Until the possible divorce, no other woman will come over. If a judge really assigns the house to my wife, she would have to buy me out, right? Can I reject her offer and request a partition auction? My mother would lend me her building society savings contract to bid on a new apartment.
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to address taking into account the circumstances you have described. I would like to point out that adding or omitting essential factual elements can lead to a completely different legal outcome.
Unfortunately, from your description of the circumstances, it is not clear how the ownership of the property is actually structured. On one hand, you state that you are 50:50 owners of the house, and on the other hand, your wife received the property on which the 3-family house stands from her mother.
As such, it is difficult to provide a conclusive consultation.
Your wife, based on the fact that she is from the same place where the house is located, has no right to evict you from the house. The argument that your wife had cancer does not justify this either.
Regardless, you have the right to receive guests in your home without needing your wife's permission. If your wife still has a key to your home, you should consider urgently changing the locks, as it seems that your wife is exerting significant pressure on you.
Now, regarding the financial situation.
Firstly, in your case, it needs to be determined who owns the house and the land.
If both of you are 50% owners of the house and the land, a division of assets must take place if one spouse wants to take over the entire property. The value of the property will be assessed, and the other spouse will be compensated accordingly.
However, the transfer of the land to your wife is significant. If it was acquired through gift or inheritance, the land value is considered initial assets, and it may be necessary to conduct a division of acquired gains to regulate the actual economic settlement.
In the case of joint ownership, you must agree on the future use or disposal of the property. Otherwise, the joint property can only be divided through a partition auction, which often results in significant financial losses.
The situation can be best explained with an example.
Assuming the property has a total value of €500,000, with the land valued at €100,000, and another land you acquired separately with a value of €50,000, the division of acquired gains would be as follows:
Wife: Final assets €250,000 (half of the total property) minus €100,000 (gift of land) = €150,000 acquired gains
Husband: Final assets €250,000 (half of the total property) plus additional land €50,000 = €300,000 acquired gains
The difference between the two amounts is €150,000, of which you would need to pay your wife €75,000 in acquired gains.
If your wife wants to take over the property solely, she would need to pay you €250,000. She could then deduct the acquired gains you owe her, making her the sole owner of the property by paying €175,000, while you would still own the separate land.
As you can see, the division in your case is very complex and complicated, so I recommend consulting a specialist in family law for the division of assets.
Furthermore, in the case of joint ownership, it should be examined whether you are entitled to a partial compensation for the use of the property by your wife, as she is using a significantly larger part of the property.
I hope this initial legal guidance has been helpful. Please do not hesitate to ask if anything remains unclear.
Best regards,
Tobias Rösemeier
- Attorney -
