Legal Question in Family Law in California
Quitclaim before divorce
My sister and her husband purchased their home in 1990 and he immediately made her sign a quitclaim deed so that her prior debts could not be attached to the community. They are getting divorced and she was told that she is entitled to get back half of the payments made on the mortgage over the last twelve years as they were paid with community funds. Is this true? If not, or even if so, what are her rights.
P.S. There is very little (if any) equity in the house as he refinanced AND took out a second mortgage (without her knowledge - he used the money to satisfy gambling debts and partially pay credit cards that she had no knowledge of). Also, is she responsible for the money owed on these cards since her name was never used & she did not even know they existed?
Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Quitclaim before divorce
She may be entilted to 1/2 the mortgage payments only if she can prove the community did not benefit from the refi. The presumption is that the community did benefit, so she will have to prove otherwise. She will have to prove her husband breached his fiduciary duties by incurring debt without the permission of his spouse and that had she known about it she never would have consented. If your sis would like additional help have her set up an appointment with my office.
Re: Quitclaim before divorce
The atty answer you received is not correct, and is confusing.
Assuming that the quitclaim itself is valid and not a breach of his fiduciary duties, your sister would only be entitled to a formula based upon the reduction of principle of the mortgage, as a % of the original purchase price and that product applied to the present value. This is usually fairly minimal and is definately less than one-half the mortgage payments.
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