Quitclaim Confusion: Is Property Still Community if It’s Only in My Name? Artwork

Love Court Off the Record

In the podcast, Love Court Off The Record, we look at specific legal questions regarding all family law matters. From child custody to child support to divorce. We also take a humorous look at divorce. It does make people go crazy!!

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Love Court Off the Record

Quitclaim Confusion: Is Property Still Community if It’s Only in My Name?

September 16, 2025 • Anderson Keuscher Brachmann

The Question:

“My wife and I bought a vacant lot during our marriage, but for financing reasons, she quitclaimed her interest to me at the time of purchase. I’ve made every mortgage payment since. Now in the divorce, she’s saying it’s community property. Isn’t it just mine since I’m the only one on title and the only one who paid for it?”

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In this episode of Love Court, divorce attorney Jessica Anderson answers a listener’s question about property ownership in divorce. After his wife quitclaimed her interest in a vacant lot, and he made all the mortgage payments himself, can she still claim it as community property? Jessica unpacks what matters more in court—title, payments, or marital timing—and what to expect when separate and community property lines get blurry.