Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Community Property

Adding a spouse to title is more common than you may think. The problem is often caused by Real Estate Agents advising people that in order to qualify for a better loan, both parties need to be on title. As you may now realize, it's much easier to add a spouse to title than to delete him.

Your spouse may have 50% of the property depending on the circumstances at the time you added him to title. The matter is determined pursuant to Family Code Section 721(b) with "the Marriage of Haines" and "The Marriage of Delany" being the primary cases on point. Even if your spouse does not have a 50% interest he may well have a substantially smaller interest pursuant to a "Moore/Marsden" formula.

This is not something you should deal with yourself - you have too much to lose. You should retain the services of a competent family law attorney to assist you. What you gain in savings on attorney's fees you may lose 100 fold in the long run.

If you wish to review family law information, please feel free to visit our website at Damiannolan.com

If we can be of assistance, please call us toll free at 877/601-8133 and ask for Pam. Pam will be more than happy to discuss the matter with you. However, you should interview more than one attorney and select the one with whom you are comfortable.

Regards,

Damian M. Nolan

Reply: Community Property

In a general sense, your spouse would be entitled to half the increase in value from the date that the spouse was added to title. There may also be a "moore\marsden" issue between the date of marriage and the date your spouse was added to title.

For a specific opinion regarding your individual circumstances, I suggest that you consult with an experienced family law lawyer. Experience is not expensive, it's priceless!

You will find some valuable information on various California family law issues by visiting my web site.

Good luck to you!

Brian Levy, Esq.

www.calattorney.com