Legal Question in Family Law in New York

You need to answer whether the house was acquired before the marriage or after the marriage. If it was bought by him prior to the marriage date then it is his separate property. If it was bought during the marriage then it is marital property. However, there may be other factors present, such as whether he used any separate property for the down payment, such as the sale of a residence owned by him prior to the marriage. He may receive a credit for this. While it is always better to have your name on the deed, it is not a guarantee of entitlement to the property. What matters most is when the house was acquired and what money it was acquired with.