If my name is still on the house and my ex lives there with his wife, am I
entitled to any part of it?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
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 5 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.
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.