What happens to the home if fiance buys a home before marriage?

Question

Fiance is putting a down payment on a house with a loan under his name. We plan on getting married 6 months after that. I will be paying half of the mortgage right from the beginning. Also, I have proof we have been living together for 8 years. What happens to the home if a divorce ever happens?

Erven Nelson · Answer

If you plan to make payments, you need to protect yourself on the deed to the property.

John Brennan · Answer

All of the various circumstances will be taken into account in the event of the divorce. If he is making to down payment on the house out of his own cash at this stage, it is most likely that that would be credited to him prior to the time there might be some distribution of the equity in the home should the marriage fail. If you are truly concerned regarding the distribution of assets in the event of a divorce I would suggest that you counsel with an attorney and potentially enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to the marriage.

Randall Romei · Answer

Until the time you are married you will have no rights in the home. None. After you are married your rights in the home in the event of your husband's death will depend on the terms of his Will. You will have rights of renunciation granting you a share of his estate despite the terms of the Will. The extend of the renunciation rights depends upon whether he has any children, born to or adopted by him. If he creates a Trust and puts the house into the Trust your rights to the house will depend upon the terms of the Trust and you would have no renunciation rights. If your husband had no Will and no Trust then you would share in the house with his children, born to or adopted by him. The portion that would pass to you would depend on the existence of his children. In a divorce proceeding you would have rights in all marital property, including the house. You also have homestead rights in your principal residence even if it is entirely owned by your husband.

Edwin K. Niles · Answer

You should consider placing the property in both names as joint tenants, or even better, enter into a trust which includes the property.

Patrick Currin · Answer

Without an agreement to the contrary it will be his home as separate property. You can suggest owning as joint tenants or agree in writing (essentially a pre-nup) that you are tenants in common with a capital account factoring in the down and the payments in determining percentage of ownership.

Norman Green · Answer

Assuming you have no written agreement (and I think you should have one) from the time that you are married on, the house will be partly owned by your fiance. As separate property and partly by the two of you as community property. In the event of divorce, you would get half of the community property portion.

Jayne Sebby · Answer

Since the house will be in his name, the house is his. However, since you will be splitting the cost of the mortgage and other household expenses, you will definitely have a claim to it. Usually in a divorce, the assets of the couple are totaled, personal assets each had prior to the marriage are deducted, outstanding debts such as the mortgage are also deducted, and the resulting amount is split between the parties, subject to certain variations such as if one party has gambling debts the other didn't know about or committed tax fraud, etc. The parties can choose who gets to keep the house, decide to sell it and split the proceeds, or let the judge determine what happens to the house.

Thomas Edward Gates · Answer

It depends upon the state you live in. You should be added to the deed when you marry. Since communal funds will be used to pay the mortgage, you have a strong argument that part of the home belongs to you. If this is an issue now, imagine how it will be if you divorce.

Edward Armstrong · Answer

If you are going to make payments from the time of the purchase of the home you should document this in writing perhaps by way of a contract between you and your fiance. Once you get married what he should do is have a deed prepared deeding title to the home to himself and you as tenants by the entirety. If you were to get divorced prior to the time that your fiance change the title into your joint names, the home would be marital property and be subject to division between the two of you on an equitable basis. You should consult an attorney prior to taking any actions in this regard.

James Frederick · Answer

That would be up to the judge. Assuming a divorce never happens, you still would need to get your name on the title. That will protect you, in the event of his death. Otherwise, you would need to go through probate to get title to your own home. To me, that is a more serious concern than the divorce angle. Regardless of how you hold title, it is possible for a judge to undo that, in the event of divorce.

Christine James · Answer

The down payment and the "equity gain" while you are not married will be considered his separate property. It makes no difference how long you have been living together or whether you are paying part of the mortgage. That is simply going to be considered rent. If you have a long term marriage, it will probably have little effect. If you have a short term marriage, your interest in the home will likely be very small. You might consider seeing an estate planning attorney down the line and/or discussing your concerns with your fiance. A contract can be drawn up to protect you but he will have to agree.

Kathleen Delacy · Answer

Unless he adds you to deed or you can prove you contributed it may not be listed as Marital property depending on your particular circumstances at the time.

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What happens to the home if fiance buys a home before marriage?

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