Atty gave quit claim without checking refinancing

[stuckinahomerut]

What is the name of your state? California

My now former divorce attorney gave my ex-husband the quit claim/deed transfer to our home without verifying that my ex-husband had indeed refinanced our two home mortgages (in order to remove my name from the loans) as directed by our MSA. Now my ex-husband is not attempting to refinance the two mortgages on the home and my former attorney is not acknowledging any wrong-doing in his neglect to verify that the refinance had taken place prior to the deed transfer. The attorney is demanding that I pay him a new retainer to go back to court to rectify the situation that he caused. (I do not have the money to do that.)

In the meantime I am unable to buy a new home as my credit reports show that I already have two mortgages, however, at the same time I have no legal claim to the home, my FICO remains low due to my high debt-to-income ratio, though I have no debt other than these two mortgages, and I am continually at risk of him defaulting on the loans and ruining my financial future even more than he already has.

It has been suggested to me by friends that I file for bankruptcy in order to remove my names from these mortgages "just to be safe." If I file would the home be taken away from my ex-husband as well or would I just be paying a 7-10 year financial prison sentence so that his name would be on the mortgages alone like the court ordered him to do in the first place? Does anyone know of any other solutions?

Thank you for reading my "book"
-StuckWhat is the name of your state?

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by stuckinahomerut

What is the name of your state? California

My now former divorce attorney gave my ex-husband the quit claim/deed transfer to our home without verifying that my ex-husband had indeed refinanced our two home mortgages (in order to remove my name from the loans) as directed by our MSA. Now my ex-husband is not attempting to refinance the two mortgages on the home and my former attorney is not acknowledging any wrong-doing in his neglect to verify that the refinance had taken place prior to the deed transfer. The attorney is demanding that I pay him a new retainer to go back to court to rectify the situation that he caused. (I do not have the money to do that.)

In the meantime I am unable to buy a new home as my credit reports show that I already have two mortgages, however, at the same time I have no legal claim to the home, my FICO remains low due to my high debt-to-income ratio, though I have no debt other than these two mortgages, and I am continually at risk of him defaulting on the loans and ruining my financial future even more than he already has.

It has been suggested to me by friends that I file for bankruptcy in order to remove my names from these mortgages "just to be safe." If I file would the home be taken away from my ex-husband as well or would I just be paying a 7-10 year financial prison sentence so that his name would be on the mortgages alone like the court ordered him to do in the first place? Does anyone know of any other solutions?

I certainly disagree with your friends about filing bankruptcy, at least at this point. If he has not damaged your credit by not paying the loans, there is no reason to file bankruptcy.

There is honestly no "just to be safe" reason to file bankruptcy. The damage that will do to your credit is enormous...even worse than him being late a few times. If he defaults on the loans then perhaps that would be a wise option, but not at this point.

You do however, need to take him back to court for contempt for not refinancing the loans. You also cannot blame the situation entirely on your attorney. You should have known that he had not refinanced, because your signature would have been required as part of the process....quit claim deed or not. You can however blame your attorney for advising you to sign the quit claim deed prior to your ex closing on a refinance.

Shop around for other attorneys to help you file for contempt. You really don't want to use one that didn't do it right the first time.

[stuckinahomerut]

You are correct: I should have checked on the refinance myself. In my defense, I had no education nor experience in legal and financial matters, as I long ago gave my financial power over to my husband. (WARNING TO ALL WOMEN: RED FLAG ALERT WHEN THIS IS ENCOURAGED BY YOUR COMPANION!) At the time, when I asked my attorney "how would my name be removed" from the mortgages and he said that my husband refinancing would "take care of it." I had no idea that there would be any paperwork for me to sign in order to be removed from the loans. Obviously, I have learned quite a lot through this experience.

Thanks for the advice on holding off on bankruptcy. I am trying to find the form number, showing he is in contempt, that needs to be filed with the court. Anyone know where to look or who to contact for form numbers? I cannot afford to hire another attorney at this point, and of course I won't be using my original attorney.