Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I bought a property using the marital status as single while i was actually married at that time. It was cash offer, no mortgage involved. Now spouse wants to sue me. what is the worst can happen to me.


Asked on 2/27/13, 8:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Well, first, a lawyer can only predict 'worst' in the legal, not the personal, framework. Spouses are permitted to sue each other.

One fundamental question here is the source (ownership) of the funds used to purchase the property. If the funds were entirely your separate property, you'd have been legally correct to take ownership as "married, separate property" and you could probably correct your taking-of-title mistake by conveying the property from yourself as a single person to yourself as a married person but your separate property.

If, however, there is one dime of community property involved, which is pretty likely for a married person (your salary and wages are community property, for example), the title should reflect this. As a starting point, I'd recommend that you look up and read Family Code section 1101, particularly subsection (h), indicating a fairly heavy-duty penalty for a spouse's breach of fiduciary duty to the other spouse.

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Answered on 2/28/13, 8:52 am


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