Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Hello:
I have been married for approx 6 months, and am looking to purchase a house. I am going to be giving a down payment from savings that I had prior to the marriage. I will also be paying the mortgage, taxes and all other expenses. If I put my spouse on the mortgage or the deed, can that ever cause a problem in the event of a divorce situation?
If so what is the best way to structure this purchase, to protect at least my initial investment, such as the original down payment, and being able to sell the house if things do not work out in the marriage.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Purchasing a house or any other real estate during the marriage will automatically give the spouse an interest in the property. A written agreement that this money was from before the marriage will be beneficial, a post-nuptial agreement is what I am talking about. In the alternative, you must keep a paper trail demonstrating where the money came from, that it was never commingled with other money that would negate the separate nature of the funds and that it was used for this purpose and only this purpose.
If you would like to discuss this matter further, you can contact me at [email protected] or 516.746.4747.
I agree with the previous answer. If you have doubts you should have executed a pre-nup, that being said it seems essential that you now execute a well written post-nup agreement specifying all of your intentions and concerns.
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