Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I'm asking on behalf of my son's girlfriend. Her father and mother had purchased a home and subsequently divorced. Prior to the divorce, Mom signed over rights to the home and it is now deeded in name of dad as married man, sole and separate property. Dad has since remarried. Does the property now become community property with the new wife?
3 Answers from Attorneys
No, but over time the new community may acquire an interest in it if community funds of the new marriage are used to pay any principal on the mortgage, for improvements, etc.
No, not automatically. The new wife can acquire a community-property interest in several ways, however, including both intentional and unintentional processes. Intentional ways would include making a gift of an interest, or selling her an interest.
What frequently happens is the new spouse acquires a community interest gradually, through use of community income to make payments on the principal balance of a loan, or to pay for additions and betterments. The earnings from employment of either spouse during marriage are community property, and when used to make payments that are partly principal-reduction, the community gains a so-called "pro tanto" interest - legal Latin meaning "for so much" or "to the extent" (of the community investment).
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