Does a title/deed for a home, indicate the owner of the house, and what if you are married and your spouse is?

Question

your spouse is not on the deed/title of the house.

Answer 1

It'll cost you, but contact a real estate attorney to see about adding your spouse. What will happen is basically a legal fiction, you will be selling your house to you + your spouse, supported by maybe nominal consideration. To do that you will need a new deed noting the transfer of title. Just to be on the safe side, your attorney will probably insist on doing a title search as well to make sure there are no other problems with deeds/mortgage arising from previous owners.

Answer 2

Assuming there are no impediments to the title, the named grantee (recipient of the deed) is the owner of legal title. Depending on individual state law, and the type of property (there are different rules for primary residences) the legally married spouse of the title owner may have certain legal interests in the property even though unnamed. The only way to be sure is to bring the copy of the deed to an attorney in your state or have a title search done & bring that to an attorney.

Answer 3

The deed indicates who the legal owner is, as of the date on the deed.

If your spouse isn't on the deed, state law will prevail. Generally if you owned the property prior to the marriage it remains your sole and exclusive property. If you acquired it by gift or bequest after the marriage, it generally remains your sole and exclusive property even in community property states.

If you acquire it by purchase after the marriage that's where things get muddy. In a community property state it would usually be joint property even if only one name was on the deed. Some states may permit the spouse to waive their claim. Some common law states do confer property rights to a spouse unless the spouse explicity waives any claim. That's why you will sometimes see a deed listed as "Mary Louise Jones, a Married Woman, as Her Sole and Exclusive Property," or some such similar wording.

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a local attorney who practices real estate law in your state.

Answer 4

If you are in California, the title/deed does indicate the owner of the house. But it is more complicated than that. If it says "so and so, a married man as his sole and separate property", the property might still be considered to be community property in a divorce or at death of the title holder. That depends on if the property was "transmuted", meaning that community assets were used to buy it or maintain it.

If the title/deed does not say anything about marital state at all but the one person on the deed is married, it is presumed to be community property.

Before signing any deed, have it reviewed by a lawyer to explain to you the consequences of each form of holding title.

Answer 5

When was the home purchased?

What major rennovation was done to the home during the marriage and who paid for it?