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Judge finds forged mortgage, orders financial awards to wife after divorce hearing
Summary
In a contested divorce case, the judge found evidence of forgery and financial misconduct by the husband, awarded the wife multiple monetary credits and ordered a net judgment against the husband to be paid from his share of the house sale proceeds.
A judge hearing post-decree matters in a contested divorce found evidence of financial misconduct and forgery by the husband and entered a suite of financial awards to the wife tied to retirement withdrawals, retroactive child support, medical bills and a fraudulently obtained mortgage.
The case arose from long-running marital and financial disputes between the parties. The court detailed several problematic acts attributed to the husband on the record: prior embezzlement and check-counting schemes admitted in testimony, the withdrawal of retirement funds without the wife’s knowledge, and the court’s finding that a third mortgage on the marital home was obtained fraudulently by forging the wife’s signature and notarizing it without proper authorization. The judge said those acts undercut the husband’s credibility and justified relief to the wife.
The court set out specific monetary determinations on the record. Key findings recorded in the hearing included:
- A full award to the wife for the amount withdrawn from the husband’s Vanguard retirement account: $28,076.36. - Retroactive child support calculated from date of separation through the divorce: $26,016. The judge credited the husband for certain house payments he made during the separation but allowed only half of those payments as an offset, producing a net retroactive-support balance the judge quantified in the ruling. - Reimbursement for medical expenses the court tied to cancellation of the wife’s health insurance: $4,422.38. - A determination that the third mortgage obtained by forged signature and notarization resulted in a $20,125.54 obligation that the husband would not be allowed to offset as normal marital borrowing; the court treated that as a basis to require reimbursement to the wife.
After applying the credits and offsets the judge discussed on the record, the court calculated an amount the wife is entitled to from the husband’s portion of sale proceeds and related credits. The ruling as recited on the record produced a directive that the net judgment the wife may claim from the husband’s share of the home sale proceeds is $60,423.15 (the judge explained the stepwise math on the record). The court also addressed household property, awarded many household items to the wife, and identified specific personal items to be returned to the husband where supported by testimony.
The judge acknowledged the long marriage and the complexity of the finances but said the forgery and related misconduct were decisive in weighing credibility and equitable relief. The court ordered the marital home sold at a commercially reasonable price and indicated the distribution of proceeds and the mechanism for delivering the wife’s award from the husband’s share. The judge did not award attorney fees to either party in the ruling recited on the record.
The transcript shows the court also addressed parenting and child-support matters, including retroactive and current support calculations, and noted the husband’s bankruptcy filing and other financial records as part of the factual background. The court’s oral findings mapped to specific dollar amounts and directed implementation steps tied to the pending sale of the marital residence.
