Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I live in the state of California and I bought a house before I was married. The house and the loan have always been solely in my name. I am now signing loan docs for a refi and the bank wants my husband to sign an interspousal grant deed showing that only my name will appear on the grant deed. He is refusing because he thinks that (1) he does not have any interest in the property so how can he give it to me and (2) if his name is not on the deed and something happens to me or us like death or divorce will that leave him responsible for the loan w/o a property connected to it
1 Answer from Attorneys
Seems to me there is a misunderstanding, and it may be the bank's......the usual request is for the non-owner spouse to sign a quitclaim deed to the owner spouse.
You might ask why even this should be necessary. The reason is that spouses tend to develop small community-property ownership interests in the other spouse's separate-property real estate through the use of, for example, earnings during marriage to make loan payments. All wages and salaries of both spouses during marriage are community property, and to the extent principal is reduced with such funds, the community acquires a small but ever-increasing interest in the once entirely separate property - it's called a "pro-tanto interest" and the use of an occasional quitclaim wipes it out and restores the intended 100% separate property ownership.
At least that's the way I understand it - family-law specialists could give you a better explanation.
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