In Re Marriage of Neal

In this case we hold that a residence owned by a putative spouse prior to marriage is her separate property, but is presumed to be the community property of the parties when, during the marriage, she places title to the property in joint tenancy with her spouse. This presumption cannot be rebutted by an oral agreement between the parties that the property is to remain her separate property. Thus, adding a spouse’s name in joint tenancy to title of premarital separate property causes it to become “property acquired by the parties during marriage in joint tenancy form” pursuant to Civil Code section 4800.1. We further hold, for purposes of tracing and valuing the separate property contribution of the transferring spouse which must be reimbursed pursuant to Civil Code section 4800.2, that value is fixed by determining the value of her separate property interest as of the date of the property’s conversion into joint tenancy, absent any other separate property “contributions to the acquisition of the property” as defined in Civil Code section 4800.2.

When Patricia Jesse Neal and Henry D. Neal were married on July 1, 1976, unbeknownst to Patricia, Henry was already married. In…