My husband and I live in California. I have filed for divorce. We own our home which we will be putting up for sale. We also have a rental which my husband received by inheiritance. I realize that is his sole property, but shortly after he received the property he put my name on the deed. ( Both our names are on the deed.) Do I have any claim to this property since he put my name on the deed? Thank you for your time!

If your name is on the deed also then by law its part yours. Do you know how exactly its worded on the deed ? Is it joint or Co or And ?

Thank you for your help. The names are listed as "and".

What has this to do with inheritance? You are getting divorced, he didn't die.

But as long as your name is on the deed the property is half yours.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

What has this to do with inheritance? You are getting divorced, he didn't die.

But as long as your name is on the deed the property is half yours.

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The home was received by inheritance. In Calif it would be considered separate property from that gained in the marriage. But since a name was added then the property is held in joint therefore when the divorce occurs both parties split it.

Whoops

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Originally Posted by flashsbaby

My husband and I live in California. I have filed for divorce. We own our home which we will be putting up for sale. We also have a rental which my husband received by inheiritance. I realize that is his sole property, but shortly after he received the property he put my name on the deed. ( Both our names are on the deed.) Do I have any claim to this property since he put my name on the deed? Thank you for your time!

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You do, but let me explain how it works.

Because your name is on the house it will be treated as if it were community property at divorce (it's technically joint tenancy property, if held as such). But that doesn't mean in this case that we just divide the equity equally. There's a different rule that applies in this situation.

If the property appreciated in value since husband received it you own half of the increase (not half of the total) from the date you went on title. In other words, when the equity interest is divided in the divorce he will have reimbursed to him the equity value as it existed at the time he put you on the deed and any increase over that number will be divided equally (this assumes no community payments on a mortgage reducing the principal took place between the time of the inheritance to the time the title changed adding you, which might result in a small increase in the community share). If the house has dropped in value below its value when he inherited it, he will keep it all and you'll get nothing, even though your name is on the property. If he were to die before divorce, however, you'd get it all because of how it's titled and his estate would get nothing. (Cal. Fam. Code Section 2640)