Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Title of our Home?

First, there is the issue of the crime of bigamy. In some states, mistake is not a defense. It appears that in California a mistake of fact (about the finality of a divorce, for example) would be a defense...in some less progressive states it is not. A mistake of law, or ignorance of the law, is not a defense anywhere. In any event, I think the risk of a prosecution against your husband is very low.

Couples who live together as husband and wife in the good-faith belief that they are married, but really (for one reason or another) are not, are so-called "putative spouses" and the property they acquire which would be community property if married is called "quasi-marital property" and in many respects will be treated as though it were community property. See Family Code section 2251. In order for the notions of putative marriage and quasi-marital property to have real effect, the parties' status must be determined by a court.

All in all, your situation falls a bit more into the specialty of family law rather than real property law. I would suggest that around the time you are eligible to (re)marry, that you have a family law attorney who practices in the county where your home is located do the following:

(1) verify that you are both now eligible to marry (technically, since the first "marriage" is legally void, this is your first marriage);

(2) determine whether it is advisable for each of you to quitclaim to the "new" marital community; and

(3) review your wills and other affairs for continued validity and appropriateness.