Legal Question in Family Law in California

Yes, they can do this. a homestead makes no difference. The important thing for you to obtain in this situation, is that your wife's attorney fees be paid from her share of the profit from the sale of the house - not from your share.

You're in for a nightmare, when it comes to the court's authority, in a divorce. California's nanny state, over regulation has empowered the court to do virtually anything with the "marital estate," i.e. anything that has to do with the marriage. The court can stop a foreclosure, force payments, change titles, and much, much more.

In about a hundred years, when the union controlled state legislature comes to its senses, perhaps things will improve. For now, get a good lawyer who knows how to play the system.