Legal Question in Family Law in California

Being on title is a good thing as their is a presumption that ownership of the property is properly identified by who's on title. When you divorce the house will either be put on the market and sold (assuming its not heading down the foreclosure road) or one of you can buy out the other's interest. Normally the spouse who is keeping the house is required to refinance and take the other party off the loan. This is what you would have to do if you keep the house.

If you pay off the house with your separate property funds you may have to fight to be reimbursed in court. The fact that the loan is in her name is not what counts as far as the percentage of your interest in the house. What counts is whether the payments on the mortgage are made with community property funds or separate property funds.