If my name is still on the house and my ex lives there with his wife, am I
entitled to any part of it?
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If my name is still on the house and my ex lives there with his wife, am I
entitled to any part of it?
We bought the house 7 years ago for 750k; I moved out 2 years ago; the house is now worth 2M. He paid the down payment and the mortgage but I paid the rest of the bills for the house.
Asked on July 27, 2018 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
IF in your divorce, you agreed to and/or the court awarded ownership of the home or some determined division or split of the equity in the home, you are entitled to whatever the court gave you--no more and no less.
If your divorce did not address ownership of or equity in the home, then you have the rights you have as a co-owner of the home, regardless of marital status and the dissolution of your marriage: as a co-owner, if there is no court order or settlement to the contrary, you are entilted to half the equity. In this event--when there is no resolution in your divorce addressing the home--you could bring a kind of legal action traditionally called an action "for partition" to force the sale of the sale and the distribution (after paying costs of sale and any mortgage, HELOC, etc.) of the proceeds among the owners. If you wish to explore this option, consult with a real estate attorney.
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