House ownership rights in seperation

[jb28]

What is the name of your state? California

I am in the middle of a messy seperation with my domestic partner of 7 years. In February we sold our jointly owned home and used the proceeds to buy a new home in a new area. However, due to circumstances, the home loan as well as the title are solely in my name. My ex is unable to afford the monthly bills for the house on her own, and I can. So it seems that the smart thing would be for me to live in the home for now.

My question is this, if in two years, I were to sell the home, how would we go about seperating the gain. I am thinking that my ex should only claim half of the equity as of today, and I would receive the balance of the gain from today until it is sold. However I have heard different, and that she would in fact be eligible to receive half of the equity as of the date the home sells, no matter how long that is. Also, can she 'force' me to sell the home within a certain period of time, so that she receives her share?

While I am not trying to cheat her out of any money, I still have a hard time accepting that she would get half of any equity accrued in the future when it will be only me paying the mortgage as of next month.

Thanks!
JB

 

[FarmerJ]

Make a offer to her to buy her out based on todays market value of the home and have a real estate atty help you make sure that you get everything done right so its done with . then sell it in 2 years or keep it longer .

 

[jb28]

Due to circumstances, I am not able to offer to buy her out at this time. Do I have any other options?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

As your post stated, although the home and mortgage is in your name only, it was purchased with 'marital' assets for which she can at any time make a case of ownership interest.

I would strongly suggest consulting with a local attorney because at this point she CAN file partition and although her name is not on the deed, as I said, she can show ownership interest.

You might want to just put the home up for sale now and get things settled. The longer you wait, the more chance she has for claiming her 'share' and attaching the legal fees to her 1/2 interest.