Posted on: 16th Sep, 2008 08:06 am
my fiance and his brother own a house together. the brother wants me to sign a prenup or a quit claim deed so that i can not touch the house. is there any way that i would be able to do or get his portion of the house if things came down to it? the house is located in washington state and this is where my fiance and i are getting married.
Hi jchris1592!
If you sign a quitclaim deed, you will only be transferring the property-interest. However Prenup is a different agreement which is signed between two people planning to get married in future and states how the assets will be divided in case of death or divorce.
Here you should note that Washington is a Community Property State. I believe that your Fiancé's house has some mortgage on it. Being a Community Property State, Washington has a law which states that if you pay some part of the mortgage of the house purchased by the spouse, you will have a right over certain portion of that house. This further means that if the house is sold in the future, you can claim a certain amount from the payments. Perhaps this is reason why your fiancé's brother wants you to sign a prenup or a quitclaim deed.
If you sign a quitclaim deed, you will only be transferring the property-interest. However Prenup is a different agreement which is signed between two people planning to get married in future and states how the assets will be divided in case of death or divorce.
Here you should note that Washington is a Community Property State. I believe that your Fiancé's house has some mortgage on it. Being a Community Property State, Washington has a law which states that if you pay some part of the mortgage of the house purchased by the spouse, you will have a right over certain portion of that house. This further means that if the house is sold in the future, you can claim a certain amount from the payments. Perhaps this is reason why your fiancé's brother wants you to sign a prenup or a quitclaim deed.