Legal Question in Family Law in California

Very likely, but it may be a small claim depending on the facts and circumstances.

If community funds contributed to increasing the net equity of the property, you are entitled to part of the value of the house. So assuming the mortgage payments were made out of regular income like most people, the community contribution would include the principal portion of each loan payment, but not the interest. Also,it would include money earned during the marrige and spent on capital improvements to the extent they increased the value of the property, but not general repairs and maintainence.

If community assets contributed to the property, then the community interest is the amouth contributed plus a share of the appreication during marrige.

To figure out how much your claim is, you start with the tax basis of the property at the time of marriage. That is the purchase price, plus the cost of any capital improvements made before marriage, such as a new addition or significant remodel. Then you determine how much community funds were put toward the house during the marrige that increased the net value of the property as explained above.

The last number you need is how much the property appreciated during the marriage. In this market, and depending on the length of the marriage, that number is why the claim may be small.

Next you divide the amount of community funds contributed by the tax basis on your wedding day. That will give you the community contribution percentage. You then apply that percentage to the appreciation since the date of marrige. That is the community interest in the appreciation. Add the community contribution plua the community's interest in the appreciation and you have the total community interest in the property. Your share is one half that.