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MM2011 · Mar 31, 2011, 04:30 PM

For 14 years, our home agreement was the husband pays for the mortgage and car and I pay for the childcare and kids home/school expenses. My husband served me divorce papers in October, stopped payment on the car I drove and stopped paying home mortgage payments. He left the house in January. He walked away from the mortgage with no intention to pay, planning to leave it to foreclosure. I cannot pay the mortgage. I found a small apartment I will share April 1st. I consulted with the bank who suggested I try to short-sale and not to foreclosure. The bank sent me the documents and I acquired a real estate agent who to my relief was able to convince my husband to not foreclose and but to a short sale. NOW, his lawyer just sent me a notice the he is stating I owe him for living there due to Watts Law. How is this possible? I left me stranded and walked away from the mortgage. Question: If he did not pay the mortgage or intend to pay the mortgage and left me with having to manage all these affairs, do I owe him payment for living there??

joypulv · Mar 31, 2011, 05:48 PM

He has a lawyer (since OCTOBER!) but you don't?? Get one ASAP. How far along is the divorce? Who is on the deed? What state?

MM2011 · Mar 31, 2011, 06:02 PM

I acquired a lawyer within 10 days of receiving notice, donated by my family. I was told I needed to submit a response quickly. We live in California. We met with a mediator this week to discuss custody of the kids and our court date is 04/14/11. We are both on the deed. I receive noticed from his lawyer regarding the Watts Law today. The mortgage has not been paid since October 2010.

Fr_Chuck · Mar 31, 2011, 06:31 PM

And when do you file for emergency chlid support, and have you filed for spousal support yet.

You seem to have needed this as a wake up call to act, but this is really a minor issue of everything you need to worry about.

And yes, the mortgage has not been paid, since Oct, and the banks may go another 5 or 6 months before they actually foreclose. Esp if you are trying to do a short sale.

joypulv · Mar 31, 2011, 06:51 PM

The only Watts Law I know about is electric watts.

Anyone who is on a mortgage owes the entire payment, even if someone else on the mortgage doesn't, so your lawyer factors all this into the divorce. You certainly don't pay an absent husband who has defaulted on payments himself.

cdad · Mar 31, 2011, 06:56 PM

So we are on the same page here to understand what's going on. Here is an example of the rule 5 (Watts) charges and how they apply.

Ref:

The other major consequence is that if the reasonable rental value of the family home is more than the mortgage payments, the in-spouse may be required to reimburse the community for the difference in these payments between the date of separation and the date of trial. These are called Watts charges after the case that established the rule.5 The general rule is that where one spouse has the exclusive use of community assets between the date of separation and trial, that spouse may be required to compensate the community for the reasonable value of that use. Consider this example. Bob and Jackie separate. Jackie and the kids stay in the family home after separation. Bob agrees that he’ll continue to support the family and pay the mortgage and other expenses. The mortgage payments are $1,500 per month. If Jackie had to pay the fair market rent for the property she’d pay $2,500 per month. Bob pays the mortgage for 10 months from the date of separation to the date of trial. Bob could argue that he should be reimbursed Watts charges of $10,000 ($2,500 - $1,500 x 10). In a division of community property he’d be entitled to an extra $5,000. Bob could argue that he should also be entitled to Epstein credits of a further $15,000 ($1,500 x 10) which would increase his share of community property by $7,500.

Dividing the Debts in a California Divorce | divorcenet.com

cdad · Mar 31, 2011, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by joypulv

The only Watts Law I know about is electric watts.

Anyone who is on a mortgage owes the entire payment, even if someone else on the mortgage doesn't, so your lawyer factors all this into the divorce. You certainly don't pay an absent husband who has defaulted on payments himself.

Check the above link for your research. And please stop guessing at answers. Thanks.