Separated and Buying a House

What is the name of your state? CA

My situation is as follows:

• My husband and I have been living separately since January 10, 2003; he has an apartment in another town 25 miles away, and I’m still renting the house we lived in when he moved out. Our son (14 years old) lives full-time with me.

• Soon after my husband moved out and got his place, we divided our “assets” (household goods) in a way that was satisfactory to us both. I got most of the new furniture; he got our old furniture, most of the electronic equipment, and the boat. We owned no property, and had no savings. We each have a decent car, licensed in our own name.

• Our separation is very amicable. We have agreed on an amount of money he gives me each month for support of our son and the bills we still pay jointly. We both still make limited use of a joint bank account, and are on the same insurance policy. Our son visits him and stays overnight on weekends about twice a month, and for a few days when he’s on school breaks.

• We have not pursued a formal legal separation or divorce, and we don’t want to file at this time for several reasons, including health coverage. There is no official record that we are separated, other than his apartment rental history.

As I understand it: “California law - specifically Family Code Section 771 - provides that a spouse's earnings and accumulations received while living separate and apart from the other spouse are characterized as separate property.”

My daughter and I are about to purchase a house together. I want to be sure that the purchase and title will be in my name—and my daughter’s—ONLY, and that my husband will have no legal rights and/or responsibilities to the house, our home loan, or the proceeds from the sale of the house in the future. He should not be connected to this purchase legally in any way.

Question: What must I do to make this a safe/legal arrangement? How can I prevent anyone “upsetting the applecart” later down the road?

[cmorris]

Since you have not filed for divorce and are not "legally" separated, I would make him sign a written contract with everything spelled out. This should include division of assets, child support, bill payments, use of checking account, etc. I would be leery of buying a house while separated, but since you are not "legally" separated, you can do it. Make sure you have a written contract...

[nextwife]

Have him sign a Quit Claim deed, even prior to you closing, quit claiming any potential interest he might have in the property (because of marital property laws).

And don't use marital assets for your downpayment.