Husband won’t put wife on home title. Is she at risk?

Question: My husband and his first wife bought their Tempe home 30 years ago. His first wife passed away five years ago. Six months later, my husband and I started dating and we were married three years later. Since our marriage, the monthly mortgage payments have come from our joint checking account. The paychecks of both of us are deposited every two weeks into our joint checking account. My husband, however, refuses to put my name on the title of the home. Am I protected?

Answer: Any payments from the joint checking account for the mortgage or for repairs/maintenance of the home should be community property. In other words, in addition to your husband’s sole and separate interest in the home at the time of your marriage, you and your husband since your marriage have acquired a community property interest in the home.

Note: If your husband dies without a will, you as the surviving spouse will be the sole owner of the home, unless your husband has children from a prior marriage. In that event, you will have to share 50-50 ownership of the home with the children.