do I stay in the house owned by my husband?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
do I stay in the house owned by my husband?
do I have any legal rights to the
house? even though my name isn’t on the
deed.
Asked on September 12, 2017 under Family Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If the house was bought during marriage, you presumably do have some rights to it: property bought by two spouses during their marriage is presumptively marital property, and family law assumes that both spouses in some way contributed to it (whether with their income, their savings, or simply by taking care of the household and children freeing up the other spouse to work longer and harder and earn more). So generally when a home is bought during marriage, the spouses will share in the equity if they divorce in one way or another (e.g. whether it is sold immediately or down the road; or whether one spouse gets the house as part of his/her share of the couple's assets). (This said, the court can make adjustments to reflect who paid or contributed more.)
But if your spouse owned it prior to marriage, inherited it from someone, was gifted it by someone (e.g. parents), or bought it 100% with an inheritance, you have no rights to it: in this case, you did not in any way contribute to acquirin the home.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.