Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quit deed on investment properties

You have an interest in the property. You are entitled in the very least to half of the appreciation of the property while married plus reimbursement for the amount of principal you paid with income earned during marriage. This presupposes that you do not have a premarital agreement in place.

If interested in retaining any interest in the property do not sign the quit claim deed or any other instrument for that matter related to property. Consult an attorney for guidance.

Best of Luck!

Re: quit deed on investment properties

I'd like to express a different opinion. I agree that you do have an interest in the property, but I also think it is very likely related solely to the use of your (community) earnings to pay the mortgage (and improvements, if any). Whether you also have any interest based on appreciation depends upon the extent to which this is a passive investment, where he mainly sits back and collects rents, or where he is actively involved - for example, if the investment property were a vineyard and he was out there every day spraying, pruning, cultivating and picking - in that case the appreciation would probably belong to the community. If it's just an apartment house with a hired property manager, the appreciation would be deemed to result from the capital invested, not the services rendered.

If you sign a quitclaim, you will be relinquishing whatever interest you may have gained in it through use of his and your earnings to pay the mortgage (and appreciation due to his services while married, if any).

Quitclaiming to a spouse can either be a "no big deal, business as usual" transaction between happily married and trusting folks, or an attempt to squirrel away property in anticipation of a divorce or making sure whose heirs get the property upon your ultimate deaths. So, maybe you ought to do it, maybe not. If the two of you are comfortable in your personal and financial relationships, and he needs the quitclaim to establish his sole ownership for a legitimate purpose such as refinancing, entering into a long-term lease, or the like, sure, you ought to cooperate. If you suspect an impure motive, maybe it's time to say "no" or demand an explanation from him, or talk to your own family-law attorney very privately.

Re: quit deed on investment properties

If you sign it, you agree you have no claim. As long as your money is used to pay for it, you have an interest in it.