If you bought the house, but is claiming that you gave it to
her as a gift, then it is her responsibility to prove that. If the house and all supporting documentation
(title, mortgage, insurance, etc.) are in your name, she has an uphill battle
to prove that you gave it to her as a gift.
When you say you "bought a house," when it comes to your
divorce it matters whether you mean that you paid for it in full, versus making
a down payment and making subsequent mortgage payments. Georgia courts use the "equitable division"
approach to divide marital assets upon divorce. Under this approach, each
spouse takes their separate assets/property and the court divides the assets/property
acquired during the marriage on an equitable basis. If you paid for the house in full prior to
the marriage, it's your separate property (as opposed to marital property). If you made a down payment prior to the
marriage, and then made payments on it during the marriage, the portion that
you paid for prior to the marriage is your separate property, and the equity
you accumulated by making payments during the marriage is marital property and
subject to equitable division. So, for
example, say you made a $50,000.00 down payment on the house. You then got married and made payments such
that you accumulated another $30,000.00 of equity during the marriage. The $50,000.00 of equity would be your separate
property, and the $30,000.00 of equity would be marital property and subject to
equitable division. It's important to
note that equitable division does not necessarily mean half - it means what's
fair based on the circumstances.
In any event, if the house is in your name alone and she is
alleging that you gave it to her as a gift, then she needs to prove that you
gave it to her.
Answered on Apr 24th, 2012 at 9:17 AM