quit claim deed and mortgage default?

Question

My husband was married with no children and his wife was awarded the house, he was advised by his atty to sign a quit claim deed and he did, he had to pay his ex 600.00 a month alimony this was for her to make the mtg pymnts, she has never made one on time, we brought her to court because she was supposed to refinance she was ordered to sell the house and pay the mtg on time, now she says she is not paying any more she can't afford it, are we just screwed?? Is there some law that says she cannot do this? How can it be okay for her to just live there and screw up our credit? What can we do, can we bring her to court to take the house back, let me close with this the house costs 63,000 we paid her 50,000 over the past 5 years and she still owes 61,800! HELP! Thanks. -

Answer 1

This is a sticky situation. First, I'm going to assume that your husband was on the original note and mortgage with his prior wife, therefore, he is obligated to make those payments when she does not, regardless of the divorce decree. It's crummy, I know. Sure, she can be held in contempt, but that really doesn't help you and your hubby out. My suggestion is this: Call the mortgage company that holds the note. Or rather, have your husband called. As he is on the note, he has a right to access any of the information. Have him explain the situation to the mortgage broker and find out what help they can offer him. Next, find an attorney that will sit down with you and find out what they suggest you do legally with the ex-wife.

I can relate, as my divorce attorney suggested that all I needed to do was sign a quit claim deed to "remove" myself from the property. Luckily, working in the industry, I did know better, but it really bothers me that this is so common. Please keep us posted, I'll keep you and your hubby in my thoughts in the hopes that this works out for you.

Answer 2

DO NOT do a Contract for deed, Lease Purchase, Land Contract, etc. All of these entail turning the house over to someone with bad credit (that's why they can't get a loan) with their promise to pay the mortgage. The loan is still in your name. .....isn't this the whole problem?

Get a better attorney - this will cost money, but that's what happens with divorce. Have your attorney do two things. 1 - Talk to the lender to arrange to have the loan re-structured so that the back payments go onto the back end of the loan. 2 - Arrange with the court that the alimony gets paid to the court, which then makes the mortgage payment. The ex doesn't need to touch the money.

Imagine what a marriage would be like if people invested $50,000 every five years in maintaining their marriage, instead of waiting to maintain their divorce? Learn from this lesson, and don't let your husband get divorced again.

Answer 3

If she was ordered to make good on the loan by the court, then she is in contempt. However, this sounds like a person who doesn't really pay their bills on time, so her credit is probably shaky,and a refinance is up to the lender - the court can't make a lender refi her house so she can remove his name altogether. That's the problem with quit claims - it only forfeits right to the property, but the loans/debts CONTINUE. The only thing he can do is work with the lender to possibly short sell the property to avoid a foreclosure on his credit, but other than that, there isn't much that can be done. Perhaps he can negotiate in court for her to sign the property back over to him if she can't afford it, then he can proceed with a sale/rent/land contract, whatever, but this is a pretty sticky situation. He shouldn't have signed the quit claim so quickly, or at least after she put the loan in her own name. I would have never left my name attached to the debt if I wasn't with the spouse any longer. Good luck - you need to keep talking to an attorney.

Answer 4

Step one, don't panic.

Step two, understand the relationships better here. What the court says she has to do is one thing, what the loan documents say your husband is responsible for is something else.

Step three, get some serious, competent legal advice. You need to understand precisely what the court documents say, and what the loan documents say, and find out exactly where the loan on the house stands, and what your husband may be on the hook for. You have to develop your worst case scenario, and stop expecting her to do what she's supposed to do.

Maybe the best thing to do is just let the house foreclosure take place. Maybe the best thing to do is stop living up to your husband's obligations under the court order and when she takes him to court, lay out all of her violations and make the court start over. Maybe he can get his name off the Note with the lender so it just doesn't matter anymore.

There's just no way to know without seeing all the documents and getting the precise status of the house payments, and contacting the lender to see what they're willing to do.

You have to get a competent attorney and get the full picture.

Answer 5

Your lawyer sold you down the river. This was probably malpractice. And the statute of limitations may have expired, though in some states, it will not begin to run until you are sued. You are 100% liable if you signed the mortgage note. Did the nimrods who represented you even get the ex to sign the deed to attest that he was assuming the mortgage? Probably not, which means that your remedies are as thin as they were when you were still married, that is, you are jointly and severally liable and you have no recourse against the ex. But you can certainly make the lawyers' day by telling them you want the name of their malpractice carriers, because you have a claim. And you might also want to have a chat with the bar authorities to consider whether your lawyer should have his/her ticket lifted for incompetence. Even a recent law school grad knows to get the non-resident spouse off the mortgage. One has to wonder if your ex passed some $$ to your lawyer under the table to sell you down the river. He's either incompetent to the point of being demented, or he's corrupt. Either way. he should not have a license to practice law.

Answer 6

It is contempt of court for the ex-wife to ignore the judgement but she has. I would assume that the ex's credit is poor and she can't refinance it, so your only option is to rent it out or sell it asap.

The divorce attorney who said sign the quit deed truly failed to protect you. But you'll get nowhere trying to sue an attorney.

Now you need another attorney to fight the ex so you can have the power to sell it, remember you gave up your property rights. You could try this website to get free law advice in your state:
www.lawguru.com. I hope someone is able to help you.