Remove Your Ex-Spouse From the House Title — Without Losing Prop 13

The two California options in divorce are the interspousal transfer deed and the quitclaim deed. It is purpose-built for spousal transfers and contains the statutory spousal-exemption recital and the documentary transfer tax exemption declaration on its face. A quitclaim deed is also acceptable when the marital settlement agreement names that form — but the exemption language must be drafted in or the County Assessor can treat the transfer as a regular change in ownership. The marital settlement agreement (or divorce judgment) usually names the deed type; if it does not, we walk you through which option fits your situation and you decide which to move forward.

One year from the judgment date. Inside that window, the California spousal exemption applies automatically — the County Assessor treats the deed as no change in ownership and your Prop 13 base year value stays the same. Outside that window, the Assessor can treat the transfer as a regular sale and reassess the home to current market value — potentially adding tens of thousands of dollars per year to your property tax bill. We prioritize divorce filings inside the one-year window.

No — does it remove mortgage liability? No, it does not. The deed and the mortgage are separate contracts. A divorce transfer puts the keeping spouse on sole title; it does not remove the departing spouse from the mortgage note. To release your ex from mortgage liability, the keeping spouse refinances into a sole-name loan they qualify for independently. The two moves happen together — the deed transfer and the refinance close concurrently (and the federal Garn-St Germain Act protects spousal transfers from the lender’s due-on-sale clause) — but they are two separate transactions. We coordinate timing so the recording happens as part of the refinance closing when that’s how your divorce settlement is structured.

TrustPoint prepares the divorce deed for a flat $275, which includes preparation, both spousal-exemption recitals, the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR), and one revision. Add-ons: e-recording $50, pre-recording title search $30, notarization $15 per signature. County recording fees are approximately $65 for an owner-occupier primary residence or $165 for an investment property. Documentary transfer tax is $0 on qualifying spousal transfers in divorce. Compare that to Bay Area attorneys, who typically charge $500–$1,500 in attorney fees for the same paperwork and often take 2–4 weeks.

The California family court can sign for them. When a spouse refuses to sign the documents required by the marital settlement, the keeping spouse files a request with the family court that issued the divorce judgment. The judge signs an order substituting the court’s signature for the missing spouse’s — the County Recorder accepts that order plus the filing and records the transfer. We prepare the substituted-signature court-order package alongside it when your situation requires it. Pricing for the court-order package is quoted separately at intake because complexity varies.

TrustPoint prepares and e-records your divorce deed the same business day. After online intake (about 10 minutes uploading your divorce judgment and current title), it is drafted with all statutory recitals, you sign and notarize, then we e-submit to the County Recorder. Filings delivered before noon are typically recorded the same afternoon; the recorded copy is emailed back within 24 hours. We file in all 58 California counties.

California law does not require an attorney for this work. A Registered Legal Document Assistant under California’s LDA law can prepare grant deed, quitclaim deed, interspousal transfer deed, trust transfer deed, and correction filings — at a flat fee. Attorney involvement is the right fit for contested property division still being litigated, contested transmutation claims, or situations where the divorce judgment itself is being challenged — we walk you through the situations where that applies and you decide. For a settled case where the judgment names the form and both spouses cooperate, an LDA is the appropriate and cost-efficient path.

Usually no — once a California divorce petition is filed and served, an automatic temporary restraining order prevents either spouse from conveying real property without court authorization or a written agreement signed by both spouses. It is typically recorded after the judgment is entered and the marital settlement agreement is incorporated into the judgment. If you and your spouse have signed a stipulated settlement that specifically authorizes the transfer earlier, we can prepare the documents for that earlier recording.