Is my spouse entitled to
half the equity in my house?
The most common answer in California: it depends on when you bought it, whose money paid for it, and what the title says.
Bought during the marriage? Start at 50/50.
A home purchased during the marriage with earnings from the marriage is presumed community property — each spouse owns half the equity, regardless of whose name is on the loan or who made the payments. The presumption can be rebutted, but the burden is on the spouse claiming otherwise.
Bought before the marriage? The community earns a share — Moore/Marsden.
If you owned the house before marriage but the mortgage was paid down with marital earnings, the house stays your separate property — yet the community acquires a proportional interest in it. The Moore/Marsden formula gives the community credit for the principal paid during marriage plus a matching share of the home's appreciation over that period. Your spouse isn't entitled to half the house — but they may be entitled to half of that community share.
Changed the title? That may be a transmutation.
Spouses can change property from separate to community (or vice versa) — but only in writing, with an express declaration signed by the spouse giving up the interest. Adding your spouse to the deed during a refinance is the classic example: it can convert your separate-property house into community property, though you may keep a reimbursement right for your original separate contribution. A casual promise or a joint bank account is not enough — the writing controls.
Characterization is a rules problem, not an argument about fairness. These are the rules.
Authorities current as of 2025. Case law changes; nothing here is a substitute for advice on your own facts.
Get answers about your situation.
This guide is general information — a consultation is where it becomes advice.
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