Divorce often requires division of marital assets, and at times, the sale of marital assets. Accordingly, one of the most contentious assets in property division is the family home. For many parties, the family home is a sizeable asset with sentimental value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the house community property or separate property?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Community property is property that belongs to both spouses. Under California law, there is a presumption<\/a> that an asset is community property if it was bought during the marriage by a spouse while domiciled in California. So, if the house was bought during the course of the marriage, then it is presumed to be community property. Accordingly, each spouse has an interest in the home and it is subject to property division in divorce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it may not be so easy to tell at first glance who owns the house. There may be instances when the house is in only one spouse\u2019s name but was bought with community funds during the marriage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nis a presumption that an asset is the separate property of a spouse if the property\nwas bought before the marriage. Thus, a house that was bought before marriage\nwill be considered as separate property. As a general rule, separate property\nis not subject to property division and remains the sole property of the spouse\nwho originally bought it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In some instances, however, the separate property may be converted into community property if the other spouse contributed to the mortgage payments or improvements of the house. In this case, the spouse who contributed will be entitled to an interest in the house and the house may be subject to division. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now\nthat we\u2019ve settled the matter of ownership, let us discuss the options\navailable to parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSeparate Property<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Property Division<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sale of the House<\/h3>\n\n\n\n