community property vs property obtained prior to marriage question?

Question

I entered into a marriage with 70k of assets (equity from a home which I sold and put into a joint stock account with my spouse). He had a lot which was financed (little equity at the time of marriage) but during our marriage we built a house on the lot together and it is now worth 250K but my name is not on the deed. I have asked him to add my name to the deed because technically I entered the marriage with more assets than he did and my assets turned into community property but his did not. What course of action do I have if he refuses to add my name to the deed? I really don't want to divorce him over this but it is the principal of the thing. FYI the house on the lot was built "out of pocket" which came from his income because he was living in my house for free for a year (same house I sold and turned the equity into community property) but we built the house ourselves, putting in many design and labor ours personally and I paid for the 10k drive way myself.

Answer 1

Take it to your attorney. Have the papers drawn up to amend the deed. No one wants the thought of divorce to interfere with their marriage, but the cold hard facts are if you do not take care of your business every day (even while you are married) some time down the road it could really damage you. If the house was built after the marriage it is half yours, the deed needs to reflect this, plain and simple.

Also you should have never co-mingled your money (earned prior to the marriage) into a joint account. This action could cause you financial loss down the road.

Answer 2

Depending on which state you live in and from being a real estate agent, anything that you had before the marriage, is still considered yours, anything that was acquired during the marriage now belongs to both, equally no matter how much $$ you put into it. If your name is not on the deed, but the property was aquired during the marriage, then it is still equally yours. Its justified as a joint venture and both parties equally participated.That goes the same for any mortgage or debt. If the debt was aquired during the marriage then it is consider a debt of both parties unless there was a pre-nup. If the money and property situation is so much of a problem that you cant work it out on your own, then I suggest an attorney.

Answer 3

Depending on the state you live in, if you have a paper trail of your money and assets and can prove what you say, the judge should take that into account. Also, it depends on the length of the marriage. If you married 10 years ago and now want your due, good luck. But documentation will help to prove your case.

Answer 4

Whether you added her to the deed or mortgage does not matter, in most states when you are married and no prenuptial agreement is in place then all debt and assets are considered shared equally unless delegated differently with the court systems during the divorce agreement. So when you go to refinance your deed is going to read that you are married now and before it read you solely owned it, they will not need her name on the mortgage documents but she will be on the deed and have to sign the deed which will show the change in relationship status and new mortgage information.

Answer 5

Don't give him a choice..
Tell him to put your name on the deed or you are going to
take action that he will not like, it is not a threat, it is a promise.
Then, file for divorce and ask for the house...

Answer 6

did you put your name on the lmortgage?
and when the property taxes arrive isn't your name on those?

Ask him what is the reason you are shutting me out of owning OUR home?

take your 70 k out of the joint account and put it in an account of your own

Answer 7

Get a good lawyer. Sue him for your share of the property.