Legal Assistance with Divorce and Property

Questioner

Dear Employee, I got divorced last year and took over the house. This was arranged and settled under the guidance of a financial advisor and notary. I had to buy out my ex-partner for a considerable amount, because there was considerable equity in the house. My ex-partner received this amount in one go when the deed was passed. In the deed of division, the division of the estate was not taken into account because I assumed that we could agree on this together. That agreement did not happen, my ex did not want to consult or talk to come to an equal division. He took a large part of the household effects without consultation or consent from me, including things that I wanted to keep because of their emotional value. However, at the time, in order not to let the matter escalate further, I accepted it and have since replaced my household effects where necessary. Now my ex-partner still wants to claim a number of things, because he still thinks that he did not receive enough of the household effects. He has indicated that he wants my wooden floor and a number of trees from my garden. My question is: can he -legally- still claim things from my house or garden? Doesn't the wooden floor simply belong to the house that I took over and bought him out for? And the same for the trees in the garden? To be clear: the wooden floor is on the ground floor (approx. 30m2) and cannot be removed without damaging the house. I would like to hear your advice in this situation. Thank you in advance and with kind regards,

Lawyer

Everything that is permanently connected to the immovable property (the land), which is now your property, has become part of it by accession and cannot be separated. Certainly if this concerns a glued wooden floor, certainly for the trees too. This has already been taken into account during the valuation and therefore these permanently connected items have already been divided. Incidentally, it may be that part of your household effects did not belong to the marital property, but that must be examined on a case-by-case basis. (inheritance with exclusion or due to close ties to you such as jewelry and emotional items)

Lawyer

Your ex cannot claim things from the garden. The wooden floor belongs to the house. Furthermore, I advise you to - as far as possible - retroactively make a list of movable property that should actually have been divided earlier and to determine the value of these property in consultation with your ex. This is an administrative exercise, but it does lead to clarity about which property should actually have been divided, what has already been divided, what the value is and whether there is over- or under-division. If consultation with your ex is not possible, you can estimate the value of the items listed on the list you drew up yourself and send the list to your ex. If you wish, I can help you with this. Do you have any questions? Please feel free to ask.