Purchased a house with funds from a lawsuit (california property)?

[aescby]

If a married couple purchased a house with funds that came from a lawsuit settlement in favor of the husband does the wife have the same rights under the community property laws to that house if they were to divorce? In other words can she get half the house if they were to end their marriage.

[jarel]

Depends on a couple of factors. Was the settlement before the marriage or during the marriage? Also, how was the purchase made? Is there anywhere that it is specified that the purchase of the house came from, and only from, the husband's seperate property? I am guessing that if you are asking this question then there were no safeguards put into place to reflect where the funds for the purchase came. If that is the case then the Court will treat the purchase, whether it was made with seperate funds or not, as a "gift to the marriage" and it becomes community property. Of course the husband can argue that the house was purchased with his money, but the burden will be on him to PROVE that all money used to buy the home came from his seperate property/money. He will have to show that every penny to purchase the house came from his own seperate account where no money was mixed with his wife. If there is any mixing/comingling of money where the settlement money was kept then he is pretty much screwed.