Hey, Ellie! The law's kinda twisted here -- fortunately, kinda in my favor...at least for the time being. And I'm glad you mentioned the L thing 'cause I have a little update anyway.
H bought the house while we were engaged, and it only has his name on it. But yes, we had a joint bank account from which the mortgage was paid (which means I should receive a share of the profit from its sale). For H to sell the house, I have to sign a transfer of deed, which I am refusing to do. That's why he served me with a court order to rush the division of marital property. His goal is to get me outta his house. However, he and I (during our "recon" efforts) agreed that I would stay in the house until the baby's born.
So I actually don't have any rights to the house at all, but my refusal to sign a transfer of deed has forced his hand. And now it will be up to the courts to decide. My L and I have serious doubts that a judge is gonna look at me and my swelling belly and tell me I have to move right now. I'm 5 months preggo, and by the time we go to court, I'll be at least 6 months, maybe a little further along.
Yesterday, H's L finally sent a proposed settlement which was very similar to the agreement H and I had come up with. He won't put the house on the market until May 1. His L didn't include, however, that we had agreed that he would not sell any sooner than July 31, so we'll be including that in our answer.
And this is the best part (it shows that H is runnin' a little scared right now, and rightfully so): He proposes that I can have everything inside the house as long as I waive my right to any alimony. My L got a kick outta that, 'cause it shows that H's L is fully aware of the "extra leg" I've grown since Dec. 15.
Obviously, there's no way I'm giving up my right to alimony. So, here's what we're answering with: H won't put the house on the market until May 1 (I might change that to June 1), and won't sell until at least July 31. My L wants me to stay in the house until it's sold (which will maximize the potential alimony I'll be able to receive, since H wouldn't be paying a mortgage and trying to pay me spousal support at the same time). I don't really want to be in the house while it's "showing," but the way I look at it is that it'll be after the baby's born. I'm sure I'll be feeling a lot better by then.
We're also gonna include that of course we won't agree to waive alimony or attorney's fees, but will revisit those issues as soon as the house is sold.
Additionally, we're sending a letter to OW to rattle her cage, as we have been planning to do. L had a heart-to-heart with me last night about pursuing a lawsuit against her. I told him I don't think I'll do it, because it's really not her fault. He said he agreed, but that he'd be willing to file one against her if I really wanted to. I told him to stick to the letter for now.
So I'm getting ready to rock H's and OW's worlds a little. I told my L last night that every time I receive papers from H, it feels like another blow. It's amazing how paper can do that to us. I'll feel a little better once I file papers on them. Like I'm actually defending myself for once in this nightmare.
Anyway, that's my update. I just hate like hell that everything has come to this.
