West Valley City, UT asked in Real Estate Law for Utah

Q: If I bought a house with someone who didn't actually financially contribute to the house in any way and only paid

2 mortgage payments be entitled to half the home if it is sold?

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer

A: Step one is to communicate with this person regarding what they expect to receive in a sale of the home. Any value gained since the purchase, will be funds in question. (A court may find that the increase in value must be divided, you won't know until you receive a final judgment from the court.) Any amounts you have spent in excess of the other buyer will clearly show your greater investment, but it doesn't guarantee if you will receive more than a replacement of your investment plus half of the equity.

If you and the other buyer can agree on how much of the home you each own, an easy way for the two of you to correct this would be for both of you to sign a quit claim deed from yourselves to yourselves specifying what percentage each of you own of the home. I recommend having an attorney prepare the deed to avoid errors that could create new problems.

If you cannot agree on who owns what portion of the home, you can seek a legal determination of this in court. You could argue that you have shouldered the majority of costs and should therefore receive a larger portion of the sale proceeds.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.