If my spouse purchases a house in his name during marriage because I have bad credit will it be his separate property?

Although there is a presumption that property acquired during marriage is community, there are now a number of cases that where one spouse takes title in his or her name it is to be treated as that spouses separate property. This most often comes about where one spouse has bad credit. The spouse who is not on title has a very difficult burden to prove that the property should be community because of a breach of a fiduciary duty e.g duress or they were tricked into signing. If you are in this situation you should consult with an experience family lawyer before signing any documents such as a Quitclaim deed giving your spouse sole title. There was a recent discussion of this in the unpublished opinion of the California Appeals Court in the Santana Case on August 25, 2011.