Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Joint Tenancy dissolution
I purchased a home with my ex-wife just after our divorce. I am the primary borrower on the home loan and we are joint tenants on the deed but my ex-wife has resided in the home since the date of purchase. Since this time her late pays have affected my credit and affected my buying power on my own home. I asked my ex-wife to refinance the loan but she would not. So I started a partition action to sell the home. My understanding of true Joint Tenancy is that we have equal ownership of the home regardless of who has invested more money into the property thus upon sale the equity would be divided equally in half. I am being told that I am liable for paying back my ex-spouse any monies she may have vested in the home but there is no prior written or verbal agreements that this would be the case. can you tell me what my true claims are in this type of joint tenancy and do you have any case law that can substantiate yourfind that I may use?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Joint Tenancy dissolution
I am assuming, based on your letter that 1)you do not have a written, co-ownership agreement, 2)you used your credit to get the loan, and 3)most, or all, of the down payment came from her.
A lot will depend on how long you have owned the property. If she put down 20%, and 1 year later you want half of that in a sale, I don't think that you would be successful. You would be unjustly enriched at her expense. On the other hand, if you have owned the property for 5 years and there has been significant appreciation, you might be entitled to a 50-50 split.
If the judge is in a good mood that day, you might win ... but it could come out the other way, too. Any time you have any kind of joint ownership between 2 people, you need a written document that spells out the obligations and rights of each party.
Bottom line is that you need to work out what is fair to both parties.
Re: Joint Tenancy dissolution
Joint Tenancy does imply that each owner owns one-half,
but the Court in the partition action will find a way to
fairly apportion the money spent on the house. That is,
you might be required to make some sort of
adjustment in favor of your wife for any expenditures she has
made, including down payment, monthly payments and
maintenance costs, in excess of the reasonable rental
value of the home. Partition is an equitable remedy, so
the Court has broad discretion to fashion the outcome.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
