Alaska is a state that is supposed to make fair distribution of marital assets. You might think if you were were in your own home paying the mortgage that it would be be impossible to make you leave.
That might be true if you are a man in Alaska but apparently is not if you are a woman.
Having already given control of tens of thousands of dollars of business revenue, the bank account, business inventory, even the phone lines to the man in a divorce case, one might reasonably expect the poor weak woman to get the home and hearth as her portion of the divorce settlement.
The caveat here is THERE WAS NO SETTLEMENT! As hard as it might be to believe, the judge granted a divorce without a property settlement. Granting possession of virtually all the marital assets to the ex, the judge just plain refused to deal with the business of separating marital property. Having granted the ex the divorce he wanted February 1, 2008, the judge then gave him possession of nearly everything we owned.-indefinitely!
Division of property is a major issue that keeps people together, probably second to issues of child custody and support. Many couples bicker for years but stop short of the D word for the simple reason that EVERYONE LOSES IN A DIVORCE. No one gets everything they want.
The law in Alaska does not permit a bifurcated divorce, that is, a divorce without settling the thorny issues first, unless both parties agree. If they cannot agree, and one party wants bifurcation, the law requires a showing, on the record, of how the property rights of the opposing party will be protected. These are not my words; they are in the Alaska statute. They are there to protect people not able to protect themselves and their property, and are supposed to be upheld by the courts.
In most states, bifurcated divorce is not allowed. It is cumbersome and causes too many financial problems. The incentive to cooperate in reaching a conclusion to the divorce after granting the decree may be gone on the part of the person who wanted to divorce. Parties who wish to steal from the former spouse may have carte blanche to do so. Most often, the party who abuses the process is the man.
The judge in my case refused to grant me support, refused to give me my property, refused to allow me access to my own business and took my home. He refused to enforce his order for mortgage payments. He gave everything to my ex. He gave nothing to me. The law in Alaska is supposed to prevent this from happening. Anyone has the Constitutional right to due process.
Well, actually, the judge gave me something very important. He gave me basis for a Supreme Court Appeal.
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Watega Factor
It is a very common occurrence in divorce that the person who can first grab control of the finances-usually the man- will use that control for economic coercion to gain advantage in the divorce. Usually the husband will arrange a loss in income, or a new debt or some reason he cannot make house payments and push for early disposal of the home, with or without you in it.
Yes, guys, I know you will say you would never be such a jerk, but the statistics show the man is the one who takes this approach 88 percent of the time. But listen up ladies, if this is happening to you IT IS WRONG AND PROBABLY NOT LEGAL!
Lesley Watega and her husband divorced in Alaska. They owned a home that was part of the property to be divided, but the divorce was not yet over. Lesley, like me, refused to allow the sale of her home, but the court overruled her objections. Leslie was forced to out of her home, and her ex arranged a sale that provided no funds or benefit to her, but provided something of a windfall to the buyers in the form of a short sale.
As in the Watega divorce, my case had allegations by the husband that foreclosure would occur, but the sale of the home would have gained nothing for the marital estate. In Watega there was no evidence the marital home would be jeopardized if the husband would have paid the mortgage. In my case, except for refusal of the ex to comply with court orders and pay the mortgage, and the lack of enforcement from the court, the home would not have been jeopardized. As in Watega, there was at least a ninety day window by which the mortgage could have been brought current to adequately preserve the investment, except for the fact the ex just refused to pay up.
Lesley Watega brought her case to the Alaska Supreme Court a few years before my case began. The Alaska Supreme Court rendered its written opinion in her case on September 8, 2006. Regarding the sale of a marital home while a divorce is pending, the Court stated:
“Courts may only exercise their authority to order sales in exceptional circumstances not present in this case.” ( Watega v Watega 143 Pd 3 58{09/08/2006} Alaska).
This is important. Pay attention.
You. Cannot. Be. Deprived. Of. Property. Without. Due. Process.
Without hearings. Without cause. Remember your eight grade civics class when you studied the United States Constitution? This is it in action. Look it up. Simply put, this protects you every day.
The Alaska Supreme Court went on to say that while statutes do not provide any limitation on a court’s ability to permit sale of marital property "the courts do not have unlimited discretion to permit sale of property prior to the division of property in a divorce judgment. Instead, courts should permit sales sparingly and only for pressing reasons, such as the prevention of waste of marital assets."
This was such a precedent setting case that it was reported across the country in law journals. Remember the recess in court? The judge went off the bench to consider his ruling? (It's right under this post.) The judge looked up his options, and found Watega v. Watega.
I understand the lady still lives in Alaska. Wherever she lives, kudos to Lesley. Because she fought something she knew was wrong, she got her house back. The people who lived there for two years while she fought her case? Thrown out. And because this lady went through such a terrible hardship, I didn't have to.
My ex had packed what was left of my belongings in a connex. His attorney was smug. Even my pastor told me this home was not for me. But I never saw that sign I asked for, the one that would have shown me another direction, and would have shown me a way to give up on my home. After 10 weeks, even my friends had given up hope. No one I knew thought I had the chance of a snowball in hell to recover my home, except me. I couldn't give up what I knew was and felt right.
When the court came back from recess, the judge ruled that the sale would not be completed. My home was returned to me pending ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.
It was almost winter in Alaska. My good friend was looking for a place to park her motor home before the snow flew. I called her in tears, and I was crying so hard she thought something bad had happened in court. I finally managed to say, " come park your motor home in my driveway". I was going home.
Yes, guys, I know you will say you would never be such a jerk, but the statistics show the man is the one who takes this approach 88 percent of the time. But listen up ladies, if this is happening to you IT IS WRONG AND PROBABLY NOT LEGAL!
Lesley Watega and her husband divorced in Alaska. They owned a home that was part of the property to be divided, but the divorce was not yet over. Lesley, like me, refused to allow the sale of her home, but the court overruled her objections. Leslie was forced to out of her home, and her ex arranged a sale that provided no funds or benefit to her, but provided something of a windfall to the buyers in the form of a short sale.
As in the Watega divorce, my case had allegations by the husband that foreclosure would occur, but the sale of the home would have gained nothing for the marital estate. In Watega there was no evidence the marital home would be jeopardized if the husband would have paid the mortgage. In my case, except for refusal of the ex to comply with court orders and pay the mortgage, and the lack of enforcement from the court, the home would not have been jeopardized. As in Watega, there was at least a ninety day window by which the mortgage could have been brought current to adequately preserve the investment, except for the fact the ex just refused to pay up.
Lesley Watega brought her case to the Alaska Supreme Court a few years before my case began. The Alaska Supreme Court rendered its written opinion in her case on September 8, 2006. Regarding the sale of a marital home while a divorce is pending, the Court stated:
“Courts may only exercise their authority to order sales in exceptional circumstances not present in this case.” ( Watega v Watega 143 Pd 3 58{09/08/2006} Alaska).
This is important. Pay attention.
You. Cannot. Be. Deprived. Of. Property. Without. Due. Process.
Without hearings. Without cause. Remember your eight grade civics class when you studied the United States Constitution? This is it in action. Look it up. Simply put, this protects you every day.
The Alaska Supreme Court went on to say that while statutes do not provide any limitation on a court’s ability to permit sale of marital property "the courts do not have unlimited discretion to permit sale of property prior to the division of property in a divorce judgment. Instead, courts should permit sales sparingly and only for pressing reasons, such as the prevention of waste of marital assets."
This was such a precedent setting case that it was reported across the country in law journals. Remember the recess in court? The judge went off the bench to consider his ruling? (It's right under this post.) The judge looked up his options, and found Watega v. Watega.
I understand the lady still lives in Alaska. Wherever she lives, kudos to Lesley. Because she fought something she knew was wrong, she got her house back. The people who lived there for two years while she fought her case? Thrown out. And because this lady went through such a terrible hardship, I didn't have to.
My ex had packed what was left of my belongings in a connex. His attorney was smug. Even my pastor told me this home was not for me. But I never saw that sign I asked for, the one that would have shown me another direction, and would have shown me a way to give up on my home. After 10 weeks, even my friends had given up hope. No one I knew thought I had the chance of a snowball in hell to recover my home, except me. I couldn't give up what I knew was and felt right.
When the court came back from recess, the judge ruled that the sale would not be completed. My home was returned to me pending ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.
It was almost winter in Alaska. My good friend was looking for a place to park her motor home before the snow flew. I called her in tears, and I was crying so hard she thought something bad had happened in court. I finally managed to say, " come park your motor home in my driveway". I was going home.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
My "Station in Life"
Alaska is an equitable distribution state. One of the things that Alaska Statutes require to be considered in the granting of support or possession of personal or marital property is " the parties station in life". The effect of the divorce is required by state law to be equitably allocated between the parties to prevent one of the partners from enduring hardships like those imposed upon me. I went from having a joint marital income of about $100,000.00 per year as part of a working couple running a successful small business, to nearly nothing overnight.
After being evicted from my home, I had nowhere to turn. I was marginally self employed, and depended upon access to a fax, phone, and internet to make what little income I had. Thankfully, several of the customers I had for years from the marital business chose to work with me rather than the ex.
I transferred my phone service to my cell, and stayed with whomever I could find with a spare bed or couch. I brought my fax and computer with me, along with the dogs and cats, and set up shop in the living room of an acquaintance.I made enough to live on. After my car gave up, I had a little money to make payments on a beater that barely got me around town. At the time, barely was enough. I made small deliveries and maintained contacts both in business and in twelve step programs. Between August 5, 2008 and October 15, 2008 I moved my pets and boxes three times, in three different vehicles.
I admit, I had a crisis of faith. The court refused to give me support, refused to let me save my home from foreclosure, and refused me any benefits from the business I built from 1994. After having my own home for seven years, and my own business for twelve, to lose so much so fast was devastating. My twelve step friends helped feed me and gave me places to live. I received comfort from friends at church.
I went back to my home some nights. I knew a way in through a window... hey, doesn't everyone know a secret way into their own home? I got clothes and food. One time I slept there half the night. I kept the lights off so my neighbor would not see because I knew he would call my ex. They were still marketing the home for sale.
One night, I was stunned to find most of the furniture gone. Dishes, clothes, and books, were thrown haphazardly on the floor. Food was dumped out of kitchen cabinets. It was a mess. I wept alone in the middle of my living room.
My ex had married the woman he cheated with. He brought her family from out of state, and gave them the run of the home to "clean it up" for the sale. They trashed whatever struck their whims. They glued plates together, and drank 20 year old wine from my antique cups. They lit firecrackers in the bathtub, and threw my personal belongings into a dumpster placed under my bedroom window. They shopped through my clothes, and even played with personal hygiene supplies. Well, some of us are sicker than others.
I was able to get the realtor to allow me in for photos. I made police reports. Nothing could be done, the police said because the ex, an owner, had given them the keys. The insurance company refused to help with the damage for the same reason. I came back a few nights later for whatever else I could salvage. I stood alone again in my home. It felt so right to be there; it felt like mine. I prayed for a sign if it was really not to be. After that, when I returned, the window was locked.
The ex had a buyer for the home and his attorney convinced the court that they could not wait or the sale would be lost. Over my objection, without allowing a hearing, the judge granted a clerk's deed on October 2, 2008 to my ex. He was given all rights and ownership of the home without any compensation or credit to me at all. He signed the transfer of title, and sent the paperwork to the buyers. He thought he was done. However, I filed a lis pendens, a claim of ownership interest, with the state recorder's office. The title failed to close, and the sale was blocked.
October 13, 2008 was supposed to be the date of the trial where the judge would divide the marital property. When we came to court, the ex and his attorney were up in arms over the lis pendens. They demanded the lis pendens be declared void, so that the sale could close. My attorney argued that if that happened we would file an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court. The judge agreed that there would be a 24 hour stay to do so. We left the court for the attorney's office that afternoon to prepare the appeal. The attorney showed me what to do.Just a few short sentences, but I had to get it filed before court the next morning. I wrote it myself, and delivered it.
The fact is, the legal system in Alaska had failed me miserably. I was eligible for support, which was in fact ordered, but the court refused to enforce its own order. I came to court with almost nothing of what I had owned barely a year before. I knew the appeal would stop all action in the lower court. I knew it would take a long time to be decided. I had no idea what else might happen. I was still virtually homeless. I had little income, and lost most of my "stuff". Sadly, I lost one of my cats. But, at least, I had hope.
Upon seeing the appeal had been entered, the judge heard arguments from both sides, then retired to chambers to consider his ruling.
After being evicted from my home, I had nowhere to turn. I was marginally self employed, and depended upon access to a fax, phone, and internet to make what little income I had. Thankfully, several of the customers I had for years from the marital business chose to work with me rather than the ex.
I transferred my phone service to my cell, and stayed with whomever I could find with a spare bed or couch. I brought my fax and computer with me, along with the dogs and cats, and set up shop in the living room of an acquaintance.I made enough to live on. After my car gave up, I had a little money to make payments on a beater that barely got me around town. At the time, barely was enough. I made small deliveries and maintained contacts both in business and in twelve step programs. Between August 5, 2008 and October 15, 2008 I moved my pets and boxes three times, in three different vehicles.
I admit, I had a crisis of faith. The court refused to give me support, refused to let me save my home from foreclosure, and refused me any benefits from the business I built from 1994. After having my own home for seven years, and my own business for twelve, to lose so much so fast was devastating. My twelve step friends helped feed me and gave me places to live. I received comfort from friends at church.
I went back to my home some nights. I knew a way in through a window... hey, doesn't everyone know a secret way into their own home? I got clothes and food. One time I slept there half the night. I kept the lights off so my neighbor would not see because I knew he would call my ex. They were still marketing the home for sale.
One night, I was stunned to find most of the furniture gone. Dishes, clothes, and books, were thrown haphazardly on the floor. Food was dumped out of kitchen cabinets. It was a mess. I wept alone in the middle of my living room.
My ex had married the woman he cheated with. He brought her family from out of state, and gave them the run of the home to "clean it up" for the sale. They trashed whatever struck their whims. They glued plates together, and drank 20 year old wine from my antique cups. They lit firecrackers in the bathtub, and threw my personal belongings into a dumpster placed under my bedroom window. They shopped through my clothes, and even played with personal hygiene supplies. Well, some of us are sicker than others.
I was able to get the realtor to allow me in for photos. I made police reports. Nothing could be done, the police said because the ex, an owner, had given them the keys. The insurance company refused to help with the damage for the same reason. I came back a few nights later for whatever else I could salvage. I stood alone again in my home. It felt so right to be there; it felt like mine. I prayed for a sign if it was really not to be. After that, when I returned, the window was locked.
The ex had a buyer for the home and his attorney convinced the court that they could not wait or the sale would be lost. Over my objection, without allowing a hearing, the judge granted a clerk's deed on October 2, 2008 to my ex. He was given all rights and ownership of the home without any compensation or credit to me at all. He signed the transfer of title, and sent the paperwork to the buyers. He thought he was done. However, I filed a lis pendens, a claim of ownership interest, with the state recorder's office. The title failed to close, and the sale was blocked.
October 13, 2008 was supposed to be the date of the trial where the judge would divide the marital property. When we came to court, the ex and his attorney were up in arms over the lis pendens. They demanded the lis pendens be declared void, so that the sale could close. My attorney argued that if that happened we would file an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court. The judge agreed that there would be a 24 hour stay to do so. We left the court for the attorney's office that afternoon to prepare the appeal. The attorney showed me what to do.Just a few short sentences, but I had to get it filed before court the next morning. I wrote it myself, and delivered it.
The fact is, the legal system in Alaska had failed me miserably. I was eligible for support, which was in fact ordered, but the court refused to enforce its own order. I came to court with almost nothing of what I had owned barely a year before. I knew the appeal would stop all action in the lower court. I knew it would take a long time to be decided. I had no idea what else might happen. I was still virtually homeless. I had little income, and lost most of my "stuff". Sadly, I lost one of my cats. But, at least, I had hope.
Upon seeing the appeal had been entered, the judge heard arguments from both sides, then retired to chambers to consider his ruling.
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