Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Property rights of Husband

In the event you get divorced before your wife adds you to title, you would have a "right to contribution." A right to contribution means that the court will look at the value of the house when you got married. Then the court will look at the value of the house now. Then the court will look at the amount of principal (not interest) that was paid down during the marriage. You are entitled to one-half reimbursement of the principal pay down, plus a "reasonable rate of return". Most courts interpret a reasonable rate of return to mean you will multiply your portion of the principal pay-down by the percentage the house increased in value during the marriage. So, if the house increased in value by 25% during the marriage, you would be entitled to one-half the principal pay down plus 25% times that amount. Of course, like everything else in the law, there are many exceptions and every case is different.