QUESTION
Can property before married be community property if joint bank account was used to pay mortgage?
Asked on Jun 21st, 2017 on Divorce - California
More details to this question:
I bought a house when I was single. My spouse also bought a house when he was single. Several years later, we got married. We both used our joint bank account to pay for our mortgages, his and mine. We both maintain separate titles. If we get a divorce, do our properties become community properties and split evenly at 50/50 since the day 1 that I bought my property? If I refinance my house during our marriage but do not add his name to the original title, is it still my separate property?
1 ANSWER
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Using joint funds to pay the mortgage does not create a 50/50 split. However the community can gain a partial interest in the property if the loan balance was paid down. Even then the other spouse would be entitled to only one-half of the community interest. You should have an attorney review the loan balances and value of the real property to make an assessment.
Answered on Sep 11th, 2017 at 10:26 PM