MORE ON MOORE MARSDEN: DIVIDING A HOUSE OR OTHER REAL PROPERTY IN A CALIFORNIA DIVORCE

If you get a divorce in California and one spouse purchased real property before the marriage the other spouse may have a community property interest in the house by operation of law. Very commonly people get married and one of them already owns a house. If they get a divorce the Court will not give one half of the house value to the spouse who did not buy it. But the law does say that spouse is entitled to an interest. The essential question is how much is the value of that interest.

QUESTION: What is the value of the interest due to the spouse who did not buy the property?

ANSWER: It is complicated. It’s determined by using what’s called the MOORE MARSDEN FORMULA.

California law mandates the use of  formula to calculate each party’s interest in real property when acquired prior to the marriage by one spouse or partner. The party who originally purchased the asset has a pre-marital separate property interest in the property, but community property funds were used to continue to acquire the property by paying the mortgage. The payments create a community property interest in the residence.

This can be further complicated by a refinance during marriage. The MOORE MARSDEN forumla does not mean that both the purchasing spouse and non purchasing spouse have the same interest. The value is not divided equally.

We have addressed dividing real property before in the context of a California divorce before. Here’s the link to article that explains how the Moore Marsden formula works.

In a case decided in April 2025 (In re Matter of Freeman) the California Appeals Court confirmed that Property subject to Moore Marsden claim is generally valued at or near the time of trial. 

The new case didn’t change the law it confirmed it and made it clearer:

1. The case confirmed that if each party has a different opinion of value as reflected in appraisals of the real property presented to the court as evidence,the trial court will accept appraisal closest to the trial date.
2. The case confirmed that while the community’s pro tanto percentage interest is generally fixed as of the date of separation of the parties, the property’s value is typically assessed at or near trial.

QUESTION: Mr. Gentry what is a pro tanto interest?

ANSWER: That is the percentage of the real property value which is a community interest. We explain how this pro tanto interest is calculated in the linked article.

Galen Gentry assists clients in Los Angeles and Southern California with estate planning, prenuptial agreements,  divorce, determining community property and community debt, distinguishing separate property and with issues relating to spousal support, child support and custody.  Mr. Gentry has 30 years of experience and can help people to protect their interests. Call at (310) 282-7521 to schedule a free consultation.