Do I Get Credit for a Non-Marital Interest in an Upside Down House in a Minnesota Divorce?
Especially when the real estate market is depressed, I often encounter the situation where a spouse had a non-marital interest in the marital homestead at the time of marriage; but at the time of divorce, the house is upside down. So the question arises as to whether or not the spouse who formerly had the non-marital interest is entitled to any kind of credit in the overall divorce property settlement.
The answer is no. The burden of proof is on the party claiming a non-marital interest to trace that interest to a currently-existing asset. If your current homestead is as far as you can trace your non-marital interest, and there's no longer any equity in your homestead, then you're just out of luck on that issue. It's that simple.
The answer is no. The burden of proof is on the party claiming a non-marital interest to trace that interest to a currently-existing asset. If your current homestead is as far as you can trace your non-marital interest, and there's no longer any equity in your homestead, then you're just out of luck on that issue. It's that simple.