Q: Plaintiff seeks half of house equity post-divorce, name added to title years prior.
I am involved in a situation where the plaintiff, after filing for divorce, wants half of the equity in a house I own. Her name was added to the property title six years before she left. For four years leading up to the divorce, the plaintiff managed her income separately and continued to withdraw funds from our joint account. There was no pre-nuptial agreement, and she is now claiming half of the property's equity. How should this be approached legally, considering the financial and legal implications?
A: Regardless of when the property was purchased, the act of adding your spouse to the deed is called transmutation, thus making it marital property. This does not mean it would be divided equally, but equitably. The distribution percentage depends on the pre-marital credit you might be entitled to. You need to speak to your attorney about investigating that credit.
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