“Under state law, money acquired during the marriage is presumed joint until proven otherwise.”

“Even if I bought it with my own retail tip cash after he demanded I leave the house?” I asked.

I twisted my grandmother’s silver ring around my thumb, feeling the notched pattern press into my skin.

“The court looks strictly at filing dates and paper records, Mrs.

Reed,” Rachel said.

She shifted her yellow legal pad by two millimeters.

“In divorce law, timing and where the paper trail starts decide everything.”