Home equity · NRS 125.150 · Malmquist v. Malmquist
The Apportioner
Malmquist home-equity apportionment - the whole formula.
Splits a home’s equity between the community and separate estates under the modified- Moore time rule - and, unlike a bare acquisition calculator, handles capital improvements (reimbursed at cost, off the top) and the Marsden pre-marital-appreciation carve-out. Every figure is tied to Malmquist v. Malmquist, 106 Nev. 231 (1990); unsettled points are flagged for your judgment. The math runs in your browser and matter data stays in your client file - see matter files.
What it computes
The apportionment, not an approximation
Mixed-funds home equity is the calculation practitioners most often hand-build in a spreadsheet, and the one where a mis-set denominator quietly moves tens of thousands of dollars between the estates. The Apportioner implements the formula as the Nevada Supreme Court stated it - symmetric, so it runs community-into-separate and separate-into-community alike - whether you are proposing the split or checking the one proposed to you.
The full modified-Moore apportionment
Malmquist v. Malmquist, 106 Nev. 231 (1990)
Each estate is reimbursed its principal contributions - down payment and principal reductions, never interest, taxes, or insurance - and takes appreciation pro tanto by its share of the purchase price. Nevada's refinement prorates the unpaid loan balance between the estates by the time rule, and the tool computes that split rather than assigning the whole balance to the acquiring estate.
The time rule on the unpaid balance
Routine payments, origination to division
The outstanding balance is apportioned by the number of routine monthly payments each estate made, counted from loan origination to actual division. Non-routine lump-sum principal paydowns credit as contributions instead of distorting the time-rule split - the distinction the formula turns on.
Capital improvements, handled separately
Reimbursed at cost, off the top
Improvements never inflate the purchase price or run through the fraction. The contributing estate is reimbursed the improvement cost without interest - by the pay-off-the-top method or by offset - with the discretionary exceptions flagged where the case law leaves the court room to depart.
The Marsden carve-out, when you elect it
Pre-marital appreciation
Where the home appreciated before marriage, the Marsden variant carves that pre-marital appreciation out for the separate estate before the apportionment runs. It is discretionary in Nevada, so the tool presents it as an election with the authority shown - off by default, never applied silently.
Workflow
From closing file to apportionment
- 01
Enter the acquisition
Contract purchase price, original loan, and the down payment by source. The purchase price is the contract price only - buy-outs and improvement costs stay out of the denominator.
- 02
Trace the paydowns
Principal reductions and lump sums by estate, and the count of routine monthly payments each estate made. Interest, taxes, insurance, and maintenance are excluded - they never built equity.
- 03
Value and elect
Market value at division (or net sale proceeds), capital improvements with their funding source, and the elections: improvement method, the Marsden carve-out if the facts support it.
- 04
Read the apportionment
Separate and community equity with the arithmetic shown line by line, the invariant confirmed - the shares always sum to total equity - and each step cited to the opinion.
Questions
What attorneys ask
- What counts as a contribution to principal?
- Down payment and reductions of loan principal, by whichever estate paid them. Interest, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance are excluded because they do not build equity - the same line Malmquist draws. Non-routine lump-sum paydowns count as contributions but stay out of the time-rule proration of the unpaid balance.
- How is the unpaid mortgage balance split between the estates?
- By the time rule: in proportion to the number of routine monthly payments each estate made, counted from loan origination to the actual division - which can extend past separation. That prorated balance joins each estate's paydowns to fix its share of the purchase price, and with it, its share of appreciation.
- Does the calculator divide the community share between the spouses?
- No, and it says so. Malmquist sizes the community and separate slices of the equity; dividing the community slice between the spouses is a separate step under NRS 125.150 - equal absent a written compelling reason. The tool labels the 50/50 assumption rather than folding it into the apportionment.
- How do I know the formula is implemented correctly?
- The engine is validated against the worked example published in Malmquist v. Malmquist itself - the Court's own purchase price, paydowns, payment counts, and market value, including the improvements overlay - and that fixture runs in the automated test suite. Where the opinion leaves a point unsettled, the tool flags it for your judgment instead of picking silently.
F-Law provides informational tools, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Characterization of funds is an input - tracing and commingling disputes are for counsel and the court - and the apportionment presumes the facts you enter. Authorities: Malmquist v. Malmquist, 106 Nev. 231 (1990); In re Marriage of Moore; NRS 125.150.