During our marriage my husband and I purchased an apartment in which, till today, we and the children live. It is registered in his name only. A rift has developed between us after I told him that I wanted to divorce. A little while ago he notified me that he had sold our home to a relative. Can I act against this sale which was made without my knowledge ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 10 May, 2022A wife can take legal action against her husband if he sells their joint property, the family home registered in his name only, without her knowledge. The plea should be directed against the purchaser as well as the husband and would be aimed at preventing or cancelling the registration of the purchaser’s rights regarding the family home, depending on whether the change of ownership had been carried out or not. If the purchaser bought the property in good faith this would make it harder to prevent or cancel the registration of ownership but as the purchase was a relative of the husband it is most unlikely that he acted in good faith.
In connection with this the Supreme Court held in the 90’s in the Ben Zvi Case that where a real estate deal concerns a family home and the buyer knows that the seller has a spouse living in it with the seller , then onus is on the buyer to check out the spouse’s rights if he is to act in good faith.