Legal Question in Family Law in California
Married 5 years with one child. I have a home that I owned prior to marriage that was fully paid off. We've lived in this home for the past 5 years (wife stopped working 6 months into marriage) and I've made property tax, utility and HOA payments from our joint checking account for the past 5 years.
We may purchase another home jointly soon. I don't need to sell the current home.
If I sell the current home that I own and deposit the funds into a separate bank account and never add funds to the account going forward, will the house still be considered separate property in the event of a divorce?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Depends. If you made mortgage payments or home improvements with the community funds, the community is due a repayment. Basic interest payments, taxes and utilities however would not need to be. From the facts presented it looks like you owned the home without mortgage. If this is the case, then it likely is 100% separate property.
You should put the proceeds into a separate bank account with just your name on it. Although it is not impossible to recover separate property funds from a joint bank account, it does become difficult.
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