“I’m not on title, only my husband is on title!” — wow, how many times a week do I hear this statement re: a house, a car, a boat, etc.
In last year’s BAP opinion of In re Brace by Judge Lafferty, the panel clarified an interesting fight: who wins between Community Property Presumption (CFC 760) versus Record Title Presumption (CEC 662). I enjoy reading Judge Lafferty’s opinions — it’s very tutorial and easy to follow. In this opinion, the panel held that the community property presumption wins. This means, to me, that it does not matter if debtor is “not on title” to the house — the house is still property of the estate due to debtor’s community interest in the house. This case is on appeal to the Ninth.