Community or Separate Property

[Edsel_Ford]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My wife recently told me she wants a divorce. We just bought a new home 2 months ago. The money we used to put down on the new home, which is financed in my name only, came from the sale of the house I owned before I met my wife. Is the new home still considered "Community Property", or would it be "Separate Property" since all of the funds to buy the house came from "Separate Property"?

The only equity in the home is from the down payment, which is solely from the sale of my previous home. We never had a joint checking account, and never commingled funds. For the past 4 years, my wife has been a full time student, and has not worked, or contributed to any of the finances.

Thank you.

 

[adjusterjack]

My guess is that you gave a gift of the down payment to the marital community. Whatever equity there is in the house (including the gift of the down payment) is likely to have to be split 50/50.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My wife recently told me she wants a divorce. We just bought a new home 2 months ago. The money we used to put down on the new home, which is financed in my name only, came from the sale of the house I owned before I met my wife. Is the new home still considered "Community Property", or would it be "Separate Property" since all of the funds to buy the house came from "Separate Property"?

The only equity in the home is from the down payment, which is solely from the sale of my previous home. We never had a joint checking account, and never commingled funds. For the past 4 years, my wife has been a full time student, and has not worked, or contributed to any of the finances.

Thank you.

Whether or not your wife contributed financially to the community estate doesn't have a blessed thing to do with whether or not there was a transmutation from separate to community property.

The clue here is in the expression "we bought a new home" and its implications because the law is well settled that when a spouse uses separate property to purchase property taken in the name of both spouses, it is presumed to be a gift to the community estate. In addition Texas follows a self-described legal principle known as the "inception of title doctrine".

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My wife recently told me she wants a divorce. We just bought a new home 2 months ago. The money we used to put down on the new home, which is financed in my name only, came from the sale of the house I owned before I met my wife. Is the new home still considered "Community Property", or would it be "Separate Property" since all of the funds to buy the house came from "Separate Property"?

The only equity in the home is from the down payment, which is solely from the sale of my previous home. We never had a joint checking account, and never commingled funds. For the past 4 years, my wife has been a full time student, and has not worked, or contributed to any of the finances.

Thank you.

Is your wife's name on the deed? I know its not on the mortgage, but is it on the deed? At minimum a portion of the house is going to be community property. Any equity that accrued during the marriage in the first home would be community property as well as any equity accrued in the second home during the marriage. If her name is on the deed then she owns the house too.

 

[HRZ]

OP.is her name on the deed? That requires a simple yes or no answer .