Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Communty Property

Questions about community property probably should be asked under a family law or divorce category on LawGuru rather than under real property, because those family law guys deal with property division matters every day, but I'll take a stab at the general principles for you.

First, money received by a married person from an inheritance or other kind of gift is his or separate property at the time when received. If used right away for a down-payment, or used after being kept in a segregated account or investment, it retains that separate character and gives rise to a separate-property interst in the newly-acquired home. For example, if a couple used $100,000 of his inherited money and $50,000 of community savings, the initial ownership would be 2/3 his separate property and 1/3 community property, other things being equal.

Several factors can change the picture, especially over time. First, if his once separate property cas has been commingled with community funds or property, it can partially or completely lose its separate property character. Additionally, I believe it has been held that if a lender relied upon one spouse's credit to a much greater degree in making a purchase-money loan, that could affect ownership. Third, the taking of title as community property or as joint tenants may raise the presumption of a gift by a spouse investing formerly separate funds which constitute more than 50% of the down payment. Last, principal payments made from community funds over the years, post-purchase, will alter the ownership percentages, reducing the separate-property percentage and increasing the community ownership.

This listing should be used at most a a checklist when you meet with a family law attorney; I would not advise trying to draw any very specific conclusions on your own based on my somewhat outsider and very brief discussion.

Re: Communty Property

If you are joint tenants or "co-owners", then the property is community property. It is irrelevant where the money came from to buy the property. Once your husband signed the document naming you a joint tenant, wham, he lost all separate property claims he may have had. It is half yours.