“You really mean that?” she asked pensively, her eyes glazing over. “You’d be fine with me staying?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “It’s a little cramped right now, but by the time the divorce is through, Ava will live in that condo John bought.”
“Oh, Darling, thank you!” Mom proclaimed while throwing her arms around my neck and placing a wet kiss on my cheek.
Ava had a big smile on her face as she watched this spectacle, but her happiness suddenly deflated.
“What is it?” I threw a questioning look in Ava’s direction, but it took her a moment to answer.
“I’m sorry. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier here. But ... I’m still sad about the house being sold. That’s my home. I grew up in it.”
She actually sounded extremely sad. So sad, in fact, that Mom quickly untangled herself from me to rush over and wrap her arms around Ava instead, trying to soothe her with soft cooing words. It didn’t seem to work that well. I had no idea how much this meant to her. And, hearing the way Mom spoke to Ava, it became pretty clear that losing the house she raised her children in was hurting her just as much.
Watching this display, my thoughts drifted to the stack of cash in my bedroom. Now that their marriage counseling failed, it would be roughly a month before the judge worked through the petition and came up with a ruling. After that, there was a mandatory waiting period of sixty days before the divorce became final. That would give me three months. That is, if Aaron stopped fighting it.
Remembering the meeting with her lawyer, I knew there was no way I could clean enough cash to buy out Aaron by myself. Even if I found a way, I would still be a minor and couldn’t buy the house, though I suspected he wouldn’t let me buy it anyway. I also didn’t think I could take out a loan against the new house and condo to pay off Aaron through the holding John had created, because those two simply weren’t worth enough.
However, this was obviously extremely important for Mom and Ava. So, I made a quick decision, despite my better judgment.
“There’s one thing we really need to talk about with your lawyer.” I said, pulling Mom’s and Ava’s attention back to me.
“What is it?”
“The joint accounts. I have no clue how they’re handled in a divorce.”
“The what now?” Ava asked.
“In a divorce, they split their assets. That means everything that has value and either of their names on it. I’ve had a joint account with Mom and Aaron for a few years now, and I have another joint account with only Mom since January. When we opened the new one, I transferred what little money was left after Aaron paid for Logan’s tuition into the new account, but now I have no idea if we owe Aaron half of what was in there. I also don’t know if he’s entitled to half of what’s in the new one, since we opened that after she moved out, but before she started the divorce.”
“No! That’s entirely your money!” Mom protested. “That’s your salary. We never contributed a single cent to your bank accounts.”
“Yeah, but your names are still on the accounts.” I shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know if they count as yours.”
“Let me find out, then!” Mom declared, got off the couch, and walked into her bedroom to get her phone like I had hoped.
As soon as she stepped through the door, I seized the opportunity to get off the couch myself and walked into my own bedroom to call John, asking him to meet me in the condo the next day. I would have to be there anyway, since someone - namely me - had to assemble all the furniture the girls had picked out today.
By the time I finished the call and walked back into the living room, I found my visibly distraught mother sitting on the couch, a shell shocked expression on her face, while Ava was desperately trying to comfort her. When she noticed me coming closer, Mom’s expression turned to pure anguish.
“Darling ... I’m so sorry.” she pleaded. “You were right. Aaron’s going to get half of your money as well.”
“What!?” Ava shouted. “But ... you said you two never put any money into his accounts. That’s ... how!?”
“She said that, regardless of who deposited the money, it technically counts as part of my estate because the bank has me listed as a co-owner with unrestricted access. And therefore ... It’s a marital asset. If it was a savings account we opened for you as a child, or a custodial account, it would be safe. But...”
My mood soured the moment I heard the word “custodial”. Two years ago, when Mom took me to the bank to open that account with me, she wanted to open a custodial account. I fought her tooth and nail on it, because I didn’t want to have to ask for their permission every time I needed to use the money. The change in my mood must have been reflected on my face somehow, and Mom misinterpreted the reason for it. She immediately started crying while continuously apologizing for still causing so much trouble.
