If I buy my husband out on our house, could he be awarded half the value in a divorce? 21 Answers as of September 26, 2011

Why not just get a divorce and deal with the house from there. Consult a domestic relations attorney before you do anything.

If you buy him out of his interest in the house after separation and he quit claims the property to you, then he should not be able to claim half the value of the home from you since he already received it payment from it. You should have an attorney assist you to make sure he gives up his interest in the house when you buy him out.

Just file for a divorce and get it over.

Not if you make the right agreement as to the distribution of the marital estate before you buy him out.

Theoretically he could do that if you don't carefully document what you are doing and why. It doesn't make a lot of sense to do what you are planning without going ahead and beginning the divorce process so that everything neatly handled in one proceeding that will avoid later disputes about who said what.

I would suggest you file for divorce and then make this deal part of the property division settlement. Otherwise, this becomes a big mess and a battle in court, which costs you extra attorney fees. Ultimately, even if the Court sees it your way, it would cost you. If you don't think you can afford the Court fees to file for dissolution, you could look into whether you qualify for a fee waiver.

No. You seem a little unsure of what you want to happen. No, he cannot have you pay the money, then come walking in and take half of the house.

You need to structure any "buyout" with your husband carefully. You state that you have been separated-if no one has filed for a divorce then you still have community property. Money you earn is half his, and half he earns is yours. You should file for a divorce and terminate the community property prior to doing any "buyout" of the family home. If you have already been separated for three years, you could get divorced, with some cooperation, fairly quickly. Even without cooperation you could file for divorce and terminate the community fairly quickly, in which case any settlement of the family home would then be binding. You should contact an attorney in your jurisdiction right away.

I would think that could be a potential risk if you don't correctly handle buying your spouse out of the house. I would think that the safest thing to do would be to make the agreement to buy him out of the house part of a global property settlement agreement. A properly prepared and agreed to property settlement agreement should protect you from the risk you mentioned.

No, not if you include as part of the agreement (per your buyout proposal) that husband sign a quit claim deed, thereby relinquishing any and all interest he may have in the home. If you have a valuable asset at stake, such as your home, it would be wise to hire an experienced family law lawyer to help you.

You are jointly and severable liable on the mortgage any way. In point of fact, if you salvage the property, you are salvaging it as much for yourself as for the husband as your credit will be impacted as his will. The asset is a joint asset. You may get some credit for paying up, but that is a matter for negotiation. There is no ready answer to your question.