Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

1. He's never going to marry you. 2. The property belongs to him. 3. If he wanted to give you money or property of your own, he would have done so by now. 4. Maybe a family lawyer in your locality can possibly do something for you.

Just getting married does not convert the property from his to joint ownership. If you divorce, a good Family Law attorney can probably get you some compensation for your contribution to the house over the years. Absent a divorce, however, the house is all his.

That was a bad choice to help make the mortgage payments and never be married. If you had been married, and you ended up in divorce court later, the community would have acquired an interest in the separate property to the extent that the community property payments reduced the principal. You would only acquire a community property interest by making mortgage payments after you married, but the lion's share would be separate property.

I agree with the statements of law in the prior answers, but not the moralizing and Ann Landers style "personal advice in hindsight" stuff. The arrangement you had may have been perfectly fair, and you may have had 25+ wonderful years together.

Although you just asked a simple question about ownership, very possibly you are also feeling that the results of your arrangement of 25 years will not be so fair and wonderful. If so, keep in mind that ever since the California Supreme Court decided the "Marvin vs. Marvin palimony case" persons who have been in long-term living-together situations do have certain rights. They are not as strong, or as easy to enforce, as community-property rights, but if things do not go well for the two of you in the future, you may have a Marvin-based recourse.