property ownership post marriage

[janinegirly]

ok--warning..this is a financially focused post, so may seem boring and unromantic..but i'm curious if anyone has feedback, particularly those who are married or lawyers.

what happens after the wedding if one party owns property and the other doesn't? I know it still is fully owned by the party who purchased it since of course they put the money down and are on the deed etc. And I know that after certain amount of years this may change, but initially...I'm wondering if even after marrying, it is still a separate asset fully and wholly owned by the original purchaser only.

Secondly, and along the same lines, what if the spouse who has no ownership makes a contribution monthly to the mortgage? That spouse still has no ownership and receives no tax benefits or shelter. This seems unfair to me. This of course would also apply to couples living together, but I'm curious if anything changes with marriage.

Just curious, and thanks for listening!

 

[ImpatientOne]

Janine, I am confused as to why you would think the non-owning spouse would not reap any tax benefits? I suppose that could be the case if you filed your income taxes seperately.

I''m curious about the legal aspects of ownership as well. My name is on the deed, and even if we refinance, his name would only be on the mortgage papers. Hmmm, wonder what most people do?

 

[janinegirly]

impatient--so if they file taxes jointly there is mutual benefit? i'm just so used to be on my own..i just want to know how it'll work after marrying..

 

[KimberlyH]

Edited because I answered the question in regards to divorce, not tax shelters. I misunderstood the reason for the question. My apologies!

 

[LuckyLady]

Depends on the laws in your state. If I remember correctly, generally states are either community property states or not. If you aren''t in a CP state, then I think that the person whose name is on the mortgage/deed owns it separately and wholly, whether married or not. CP states basically give you 1/2 of the marriage assets upon divorce or death, so even if it is only his name on the mortgage/deed, if it was purchased during the marriage then it will be considered community property, i.e., both of yours.

I don''t think NY is a CP state, so after you are married it will most likely remain his separate property. As far as contributing to the payments, again, it differs by state. Some states allow for something called "economic contribution" where you can be reimbursed for certain types of payments, or improvements and such. But it still wouldn''t make it "yours" if it is considered "his" property. Confusing, I know.

However, everything can be changed by a written agreement b/w the two of you. I would see about getting your name added to the mortgage, or draw up a contract b/w the two of you agreeing that it is both of your property, or however you want to identify it.

Check your state laws- probably under property code or family code.

This is just what I remember from law school, hopefully someone who actually does this kind of law will know.

 

[janinegirly]

thanks lucky lady!
what is the advantage/disadvantage of being added to the mortgage?

love to hear others'' feedback

 

[labbielove]

I''m also interested in this, because the house is in my name, and the financial arrangement we have worked out for now, and maybe continuing, is that I continue to pay the mortgage (as it''s direct withdrawal anyway)
and he pays all the utilities, groceries, etc. and other house related bills. So far this has worked out pretty close to 50/50.

I would assume if you file a joint tax return, the whole mortgage interest amount is deducted off of the return, so the benefit/or lack of, would be the same regardless who''s name is on the mortgage.

I think the only concern would be in case of divorce, if your name isn''t on the deed seems it would be harder to "get half".

We have no intention of putting FI''s name on the deed, but I will be revising my will to make sure that if something happens to me he either gets the house or it will be put into a trust for his benefit. Right now my siblings get it, and I''m sure they wouldn''t "kick him out" but I hate to think of a big mess like that so we''re going to speak to an attorney and figure out the best way to address it.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Hey Janine,
I have a friend who is actually going through this right now. He is the property owner. Only his name is on the mortgage/deed/etc, therefore it's his house and not a marital asset (is not community property). However, since he was married and his exwife contributed to the mortgage (though a minor contribution) she was entitled to half of the amount the value accrued (equity) while they were married. In their case they were married for 2 years in that time the house value rose 60k so at the time of the divorce she was entitled to 30k of the house even though she didn't own it.

I'd like to add that this property was inherited from my friend's grandparents. While my friend and his ex didn't purchase it together it was purchsed while they were married but inherited property and gifts are not considered community property so she had no claim. Had he bought the house on his own while they were married it would be considered CP. She received no tax benefits or shelter other than what they received when filing jointly. If you file separately you don't get anything, just the person who's name is on the title/mortgage as it's their money the shelter is factored upon. I believe she will be taxed for the 30k equity unless she uses it to purchase another home.

Sorry guys, I usually support the women in divorces but this one is not a good person.

 

[firebirdgold]

Hmm, that''s a good question.

Out of curiosity, how will you be making the mortgage payments? Out of your own bank account or out of a joint bank account?
You might want to ask a cpa about tax benefits and paying mortgage if the house isn''t in your name.
Basically, I''d ask to have your name added to the mortgage if you''re paying part of it, but not to the deed.

I won''t be putting his name on the deed to my house after we married, but that''s mainly because there''s a 98% probablity that we''ll be selling in the next five months. Our new house will have both of our names on the deed wether or not I pay for the house entirely with the proceeds from this one.
(I have to admit I wouldn''t do that if I didn''t know that divorce will never be an option for us.)

BTW you might want to put at the top of your post that you mean property ownership post WEDDING!