• Divorcing wife is asking for 50% of all my properties and more

Myself and my wife have decided to divorce. 

I had included my wife's name on our house (villa) during registration purely out of love. Purchase of site, the construction, loan repayment, maintenance, renovations, etc. everything has been funded by me. 

Simalarly, my wife was made a director with 50% share in the company I founded purely out of love, knowing fully well that her contributions are going to be close to zero. Product building, customer acquisition, employee engagement 100% is done by me.

She was only operating the company from Dec 2006 to Dec 2010 to support the then existing customers and acquiring some new customers. Lost couple of big customers, added a few some small customers, and lost almost all employees.Several years before and after the above period, she was completely inactive.

For last couple of years, she has been taking care of accounts, GST filing, etc. 

Although her contributions have been very minimal to bring the company to its current level of revenue and customers, she has been paid exactly the same Salary that I took, this too was purely out of love. Yes, she has been disproportionately paid for her contributions purely based on the assumption that after the money will be within the family.

Now, she is claiming 50% of our house and the company? Is she justified? How will I be able to protect these assets as mine?
Asked 2 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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11 Answers

Wife does not have 50 per cent share in house 

 

2) file declaratory suit that you are absolute owner of bills as full consideration was paid by yiu 

 

3) enclose your bank statements to prove that full payment was made from your account t 

 

 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99782 Answers
8145 Consultations

Divorce is a legal process that results in the dissolution of a marriage, either through mutual consent or by filing a petition on various grounds such as cruelty, adultery, desertion, conversion, or mental disorder. It often involves addressing issues such as maintenance, alimony, child custody, and property division.

Property division is the distribution of assets and liabilities between the parties after a divorce. This can be done through mutual agreement or a court order, with outcomes influenced by personal laws based on religion. In India, there is no uniform law for property division, but some general rules apply:

  • Maintenance may be claimed by either spouse after divorce, especially if one cannot support themselves or the children.
  • Asset division is typically based on ownership title, and financial contributions may be considered.
  • Jointly owned assets are usually equally divided or based on the proportion contributed by each party.
  • Uncontested divorces allow for mutual agreement on asset division.

In the case of Hindu law, there are statutes that regulate various aspects of marriage and divorce, including property division:

Under Hindu law, there are two types of property: ancestral and self-acquired. Ancestral property is inherited from ancestors, while self-acquired property is earned or acquired independently.

  • A wife cannot claim ownership of her husband's property, but she has rights to stridhan (property exclusively belonging to her) and the right to reside in the marital home.
  • Stridhan includes gifts, property from her own income, savings, or inheritance.
  • In some cases, a wife may claim a share in a husband's company if she can prove her contribution to its growth.

To summarize, in your specific situation:

  • If your house and company are self-acquired and solely financed by you, your wife cannot claim 50% ownership.
  • Maintenance may be claimed by your wife if she cannot support herself after divorce.
  • Stridhan may be claimed if she has property under her name.
  • She has a right to reside in your house until she remarries or passes away.

It's essential to consult with a lawyer to understand your rights and obligations in your specific case and gather reevant documents and evidence to support your claims.

Muraleedharan R
Advocate, Trivandrum
386 Answers
2 Consultations

Regarding house you have to give 50% share if ratio is not mentioned in the agreement at the time of purchasing the house.

 

Regarding company also same thing you have to give 50% share to her, however you can form new company and divert all those clients to your new company slowly slowly taking clients confirmation and transferring all projects to your new company.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
13008 Answers
267 Consultations

You need to file the suit and claim that said amount is spend by you for the said belongings form your known source of income and for name sake 

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
34515 Answers
249 Consultations

You can refuse to give her the demanded share in the property as well as the business.

If she still insists 50% share in the house property, you can file a suit for declaration of title to your name on the basis of the funds that you had provided for the purchase of the house property and also the loan repayments.

You can always produce the bank statements and other details for the purchase and repayment of loan in the suit for declaration as documentary evidence.

However please bear it in mind that legally she is a joint owner of the property hence the decision may be given in her favor too on the basis of the registered sale deed which is on the joint names of both.

Similarly in the business, she is just a director and not the partner and she has been paid the remuneration properly as salary for the role as a director in the company, therefore she may be considered as an employee of the company and not a partner hence you can deny her the share or profits of the company.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89984 Answers
2492 Consultations

Dear Sir, 

The claim of wife is not justified and you are suggested to remove her name and by all possible means/modes in order to give her a minimum share. Giving something out of love is something else and the same can't be claimed as a right. Let her prove that she had income at the time of Villa registrationa and she paid 50% of the price and the same is applicable to business also. 

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
7169 Answers
16 Consultations

In property, you are absolute owner being sole payer.

In company, she can claim 50% irrespective of her contribution. 

Yogendra Singh Rajawat
Advocate, Jaipur
23081 Answers
31 Consultations

Hi, you have to file suit for declaration that she has no Independent source of Income to acquire the  assets and therefore pray for the Hon'ble Court to declare as you are the absolute owner of the property. 

Pradeep Bharathipura
Advocate, Bangalore
5625 Answers
339 Consultations

- if the said property is registered in joint name , then legally she having her right to get 50% share in the property 

- However, as you have funded all the amount for purchasing and construction of the said villa , then you can be declared single owner of the property after filing a declaration suit before the court after submitting the proof of fund .

 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
15814 Answers
242 Consultations

Dear client,  If your house and company are self-acquired and solely financed by you, your wife cannot claim 50% ownership. Maintenance may be claimed by your wife if she cannot support herself after divorce. Stridhan may be claimed if she has property under her name. In this case since the company has her name on it and she has been filling GST and handling other  work, she can claim that share but you have to prove that her contributions have been zero.

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
11014 Answers
125 Consultations

Greetings of the Day,

I have read your issue but find that there are some facts which need to be clarified. You can approach on either nine two one two one two four five eight five or seven zero four two eight three three six eight six for personal approach.

We Hope that a personal consultation would be fruitful to the issue and it would be better for you to talk to someone directly.

Best Regards

SPS Law Chambers
New Delhi.

Shivam Bansal
Advocate, New Delhi
131 Answers

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