Q: In a divorce are you entitled to only half the amount paid in on the mortgage ?? Or is appreciation or value now

A: In a divorce, neither spouse is automatically entitled to any part of money paid in on a mortgage.

With respect to real property acquired by a spouse during the marriage, the property will likely be determined to be the community property of the spouses and will be subject to a "just and right" division of the community estate.

Typically, if one spouse is awarded the property as part of a just and right division, that spouse will be obligated to pay the mortgage and to indemnify the other spouse from any failure to pay the mortgage. The spouse not awarded the property will typically be awarded other assets to compensate for the value of the community property interest in the property or will be awarded an amount of money to be paid by the spouse who receives the property, subject to an owelty lien. An owelty lien impresses a lien on the property as security for the payment. One spouse will be ordered to sign a special warranty deed conveying that spouse's interest in the property to the other, and the spouse obligated to pay the mortgage will be ordered to sign a deed of trust to secure assumption of the mortgage payments.

Sometimes, if there is not sufficient other assets to compensate for the value of the community property interest in the property or sufficient cash flow to pay the spouse a sum of money, the court will order that the property be sold and that after the expenses of sale and any mortgage have been paid, the remaining proceeds will be divided in some manner between the spouses or applied to other debts owed by the spouses as part of the division of their estate.

Now, if a property was owned by one spouse before the marriage, that property might be proven to be that spouse's separate property. If community funds were used to pay the mortgage, the community estate might be entitled to reimbursement for amounts used to pay the mortgage. If that property were used for the benefit of the community estate--for example by the spouses occupying the property as their marital home instead of buying or renting another place to live--the owner-spouse's separate estate would be entitled to reimbursement from the community estate for the fair rental value during the time the spouses occupied the home. These may offset each other depending on the facts. Likewise, if community funds were used to improve the separate property (e.g. adding a building, or a swimming pool, or an additional room etc.), the community estate might be entitled to reimbursement for the increase in the value of the separate property as a result of such an improvement (e.g. new swimming pool increased the fair market value of the property by $15,000).