Q: Can an estranged spouse claim property rights to a newly purchased property?
I've been estranged from my wife for 18 months. Divorce papers have not been filed yet. I just purchased a new home (my wife lives in our former marital home that I continue to pay for), and we own one other completely paid off home as community property as well. Can my wife claim my newly purchased home as community property even though we've been apart for more than a year prior to the purchase and I intend to give her the home she currently resides in?
A: Even though you don't live together, your community continues to exist until a Petition for Divorce is filed. Therefore, any property either of you buys and any debt that either of you accumulate is community until one of you files for divorce. If you don't intend on getting back together, I strongly suggest that you divorce.
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