Legal Question in Family Law in California
Gift or not in a divorce agreement
my spouse and i are facing a divorce. My spouse's family bought a house for us to live in just before we got married (the location was based on where we were planning to settle).
We ended up living in California, and the house that was bought was rented since then. All rent income as well as payments for the house (taxes, home-association, etc.) were paid to/from our joint account during the entire period.
My question - am I entitled to a share of this property in any separation agreement, based on the fact it was bought for us to live in as a family, and all payments were done from our joint account?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Gift or not in a divorce agreement
You are enttiled to a share. The more difficult question is what that share is. You may be entitled to 1/2 the equity or you may only be entitled to a right of contribution. A right of contribution would consist of 1/2 of the principal paydown during the marriage + a reasonable rate of return. The reasonable rate of return usually is calculated by looking at the percentage increase in the value of the property over the course of the marriage and multiplying that percentage rate times the 1/2 principal paydown. I would need more information to predict which outcome is more likely. Sometimes, when the outcome is highly unpredictable, the parties would be wise to reach a settlement somewhere in between the 2 possible outcomes.
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