I live in Baltimore city. I'm thinking about divorcing my…

Usually, that would be calculated by looking at how much of your monthly payments went to principle versus interest, which you'd have on your monthly statements. If you don't know what the house was worth when you bought it, that may be the easiest way to figure out what portion of the payments were made with marital funds.

I'm sorry - it would be based on what the house was worth when you married her, not when you bought it. The tax assessment is usually significantly lower than the market value, but if you can see how much your tax assessments have gone up over the years, that might help you see where the equity has increased due to the market, not due to payments made. It would also probably help significantly to pay for an appraisal, to see if that helps at all.

If the two of you can agree on a fair amount, the judge will usually uphold that decision. And you're free to take the position that the house is your separate property, then wait and see how much she asks for, if anything. Refinancing does complicate things, if you're taking out some of the equity. For one thing, if you used those advances to pay for marital expenses, then you have to look at how much she owes you as a result.

There unfortunately is not a cut and dried method of doing this. Refinancing complicates thing, and the fact that you live in a state where one of her HAS to move out before you can file for divorce complicates things further. It's also possible that you could wind up paying more than you want in order to get her to move out - that unfortunately happens.

But based on what you're saying, that $9,500 figure seems fair. If you had documentations to support what you were saying, there's a good chance the judge would rule in your favor.

You're welcome. Good luck!