If a married couple buys a house and the husband signs it over to the wife, is it still community property?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If a married couple buys a house and the husband signs it over to the wife, is it still community property?

Now there is a divoce in progress and the wife does not want the house in the negotiation. Is this legal since it is a community property state?

Asked on December 5, 2011 under Family Law, Texas

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

Community property is property acquired during marriage. Each spouse has a one half interest in community property.

Separate property is property acquired before marriage or after the marriage ends.  A spouse has no claim to the other spouse's separate property.

In your situation, since the house was purchased during marriage, it is community property.  Since you signed the house over to your wife, ( I assume this was probably by quitclaim deed by which you would release your interest in the house), you no longer have ownership rights to the house.  The house itself is community property because it was acquired during marriage; however, you and your wife can agree to an unequal division of the community property such as occurred here when you signed the house over to your wife.  Although the house is an asset in the divorce, if its disposition has been agreed upon by both spouses, then determining the ownership of the house has been resolved and it would not need to be included in negotiations.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption