Divorce Name Change and Deed

[SarahBrown]

My question involves a marriage in the state of: riverside ca
My husband and I purchase a home. I have medical bills from a spine injury. I could not qualify to be put on the deed. So my husband had to be the only one and I had to sign my rights to the house.
We are getting a divorce and I did make mortgage payments in my name and the money down we used was from our joint savings. What are my rights on the house?
Also can I change my married name to my maiden name during proceedings?
I wasn't sure if this would effect social security retirement down the line if I decide to use my ex husband social security benefits in later years.
Thank you for your help.

[flyingron]

What you did to acquire the house is largely immaterial now. The house is going to be considered community property. It matters not who paid what. It's a marriage, and both the debts and assets are part of the marital community. The assets and debts will be equitably split between you. A lot depends on what your goals are toward the house. You're going to have a big harder time post-divorce if you can't qualify for financing on your own.

You can either change your name to anything you want as part of the proceedings or in a separate action.

You retain the rights to your spousal social security benefits as long as YOU do not remarry (it matters not if he remarries). Name changes don't change anything there.

You should be talking to an attorney.

[budwad]

My husband and I purchase a home. I have medical bills from a spine injury. I could not qualify to be put on the deed. So my husband had to be the only one and I had to sign my rights to the house.

What you did to acquire the house is largely immaterial now. The house is going to be considered community property.

This is not correct. If there is a written agreement such as a deed that a party signed stipulating that the house was not community property then it isn't no matter what was paid from community funds.

It is possible that reimbursement may be claimed in a divorce proceeding. That is for the judge to decide. But the property still remains non-community property.

[pg1067]

What are my rights on the house?

The answer depends on exactly what this means: "I had to sign my rights to the house." Please explain.

Also can I change my married name to my maiden name during proceedings?

Yes.

P.S. The extent to which you can receive social security old-age benefits based on your husband's work history, as opposed to your own work history, will depend on how long you are/were married, not on what names you use.

What you did to acquire the house is largely immaterial now. The house is going to be considered community property. It matters not who paid what.

This is incorrect. It matters greatly what exactly the OP signed at the time the house was acquired. It's entirely possible that the house is the OP's husband's separate property, with the OP having a community property interest. There's no way to have any certainty about this without details.

[llworking]

This is not correct. If there is a written agreement such as a deed that a party signed stipulating that the house was not community property then it isn't no matter what was paid from community funds.

It is possible that reimbursement may be claimed in a divorce proceeding. That is for the judge to decide. But the property still remains non-community property.

Bud, even if she signed off on any community interest at the time that the home was purchased any equity that accrued during the marriage after that point would still be community property.

Think about it?

[budwad]

Bud, even if she signed off on any community interest at the time that the home was purchased any equity that accrued during the marriage after that point would still be community property.

Think about it?

That depends on the agreement signed and if the expenses were paid from community funds or not. The property does not become defacto community just because some funds are community funds.

We just went through this scenario in another CA thread.

The party contesting the property's community status bears the burden of establishing its separate character. (In re Marriage of Haines (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 277, 290, disapproved on another point in In re Marriage of Valli (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1396.) This rebuttal of the presumption may be accomplished by "any credible evidence," such as "tracing the asset to a separate property source, showing an agreement or clear understanding between parties regarding ownership status[, or] presenting evidence the item was acquired as a gift." (Ibid.)

https://www.expertlaw.com/forums/sho...t=#post1137030

If a spouse in a divorce proceeding wants reimbursement for community funds used to maintain a separate asset, they can ask for that and a court will decide if it is warranted. But the property still remains separate.

[SarahBrown]

Hello,


I believe it was INTERSPOUSAL TRANSFER DEED. We were living in a motel waiting for the house to go through. The last week they told us they couldn't put me on due to medical bills. So I didn't want my kids to be homeless so I sign this doc.

Please Advise thank you for all you help

[pg1067]

I believe it was INTERSPOUSAL TRANSFER DEED.

Assuming your belief is correct, then the home is likely your spouse's separate property in which you have a community property interest because of the use of community property funds to pay the mortgage. Your divorce attorney can guide you through how that will play out.