Ex-wife has house, hubby's name still on mortgage

[fustratedinva]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

Help! Here's the short version. My husband got divorced and sign a gift deed to his ex-wife for the house. Upon doing credit applications we found out that his name is still on the mortgage. She was supposed to refinance the house into her name. Upon reading some of the post I realize that he should have signed a quitclaim deed instead of the gift deed. Anyway, my questions are....can we send a certified letter telling her to either refinance the house or sell it? I know she has bought a lot of items on credit over the past 6 months and this concerns me. I also know that she can get a loan through her military job. Second question is should we get a lawyer to handle this for us. I feel that we should but others have said that we can send a certified letter to her, telling her to get this done.

[BelizeBreeze]

Is 'she is supposed to refinance the house' in the divorce decree or not?

[fustratedinva]

No it is not stated in the divorce decree...however it does state that all other financial matters will be taken care of responsibly by him and her. While they were getting divorced she said that she wanted to keep the house. He said ok and that she was to refinance it into her own name. She got a lawyer and had him sign the gift deed. I know that it's a hard situation because he should have gotten a lawyer too. They both agreed that she would refinance it, but she hasn't.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by fustratedinva

No it is not stated in the divorce decree...however it does state that all other financial matters will be taken care of responsibly by him and her. While they were getting divorced she said that she wanted to keep the house. He said ok and that she was to refinance it into her own name. She got a lawyer and had him sign the gift deed. I know that it's a hard situation because he should have gotten a lawyer too. They both agreed that she would refinance it, but she hasn't.

My response:

Then, since it's not in the decree of dissolution, and since he signed a Quit Claim Deed (gift deed) to her, then there's nothing to compel her to refinance. She has all the rights to the property, and the two of them are still responsible for the loan. There's nothing he can do about it.

IAAL

[fustratedinva]

Ok I understand that. But if she refuses to refinance, then do we have the right to take it to court to have her sell the house?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by fustratedinva

Ok I understand that. But if she refuses to refinance, then do we have the right to take it to court to have her sell the house?

My response:

No. Since refinancing wasn't a part of the orders of the final decree, there's nothing for a judge to rule upon. Simply, your husband screwed up, and there's nothing he can do to rectify the situation. Once the bell is rung, you can't unring it. He should never have signed that Deed without having made sure that his name was off the mortgage, first.

IAAL

[fustratedinva]

Thank you for your advice.