When married, a spouse is allowed to buy real estate in his/her name only if the other spouse executes a ‘quitclaim deed’ wherein title will remain with the purchasing spouse as soul and separate property. In essence, the ‘quitclaim deed‘ is required by the finance company so that the married person can purchase property as ‘separate‘ property.
If the other spouse refuses to sign the ‘quitclaim deed‘, then the finance company will usually not allow the sale to go through as separate property. The purchasing spouse then can either complete a Divorce or Legal Separation and when finalized can purchase separate property.
If the parties are divorcing and both agree to transfer community real estate to one spouse, then an ‘inter-spousal transfer deed‘ would be used. This would allow the transfer of property between husband & wife either with an agreement or when the court orders that one party transfer ownership of the property to the other spouse.
It is very important to get sound legal advice from one of our Divorce & Family Law Attorneys if the purchase of property when married is an issue. For answers to your questions, call L.A.W. (Legal Action Workshop) @ 1-800-HELP-444 (1-800-435-7444) or visit our website www.LegalActionWorkshopLAW.com .