I am sorry that I am going to rain on this novella, folks, but stop and think a minute. Every story has TWO sides, and the entire lot of you have all quickly piled on this manure spreader. You don't have enough information to start throwing (mud), and this thread started out asking how to find out about legal rights to some land in la Republica, and now has turned into a lynch mob. Will it end up with a bunch of DR1-ers storming the first Licey game to drag this guy away to the nearest canefield?
One of the few things I agree with in this thread is that the lady definitely needs a lawyer- both in the DR and in Las Vegas too.
My questions for one and all:
*Nevada may have community property rights, and the DR has community property rights. I guess that logically that means that yes, lasvegas might get a quickie DR divorce, and then yes, you can grab half of the land he owns here. Of course, unless you had a pre-nuptial, you better sell your (or his AND yours) house in Vegas and hand over HIS half of that too, as well as half of everything else he left behind there too. Justice is justice.
*There may be a tax bill due to the IRS. That doesn't make him a tax-cheater, as some have implied. That only means that the IRS and the State of New York don't agree with the facts and numbers presented versus their version of the numbers and the amount they think is due. You have to either fight it, or pay up. With the IRS, you are guilty until you prove your innocence. Sooner is definitely cheaper than later to settle up with those folks.
That also doesn't make it HIS tax bill if you filed jointly, it makes it the tax bill for BOTH of you. Who's the American and who's the da*! foreigner, and which one should either understand how US taxes work, or how to find an H & R tax office to figure it out for you? Now you will probably need an expensive tax lawyer as well, instead of a cheap tax-return mill.
*If he abandoned HIS son, and the child is not yours biologically, does that mean you adopted him, or if you didn't adopt him, how do YOU have legal custody and why should you receive child support if you don't? Is the child a US citizen, or does the child have US residency based on your husband's residency? If so, you might also have an INS hearing on the child's status in the US (I am not attempting to be brutal, I am only looking at the facts presented, which is what a judge will do too). IMHO, DR1 really isn't the place to be talking about stuff like this- too personal.
*If there is a tax bill due, the IRS NEVER cares if they know where either you or he physically are- the US doesn't have debtor's prisons. The IRS only cares about knowing where your assets are, so they can easily grab enough to settle their judgement.
I truly believe that getting the residency was his final reason for staying, and he then had no reason to stay any longer, so he came back to the DR. I also believe that he probably IS taking care of his family - mama, papa, his sisters, his brothers, cousins, grandma, and his other kids here in the DR.
Side note: The term "Garnish" is the proper term, and is defined as the action "to attach a debtor's property or wages by the authority of the court, to pay a debt." (just go to Google, and enter "legal definition garnish" and read anything that isn't related to food stuff.) The court will garnish your wages if the IRS gets a judgement against the TWO of you, because your wages, cars, bank accounts, and the house in the U.S. are the easiest things for them to try and grab to settle the judgement.
The term "garnishee" is the person they are doing it TO, and the term "garnishment" is the property or money they are taking to satisfy the court's judgement.
And last, just to wipe that grim look off of your faces:
What is the difference between the IRS and a hooker? The hooker will stop trying to screw you once you are dead.