Help

[xidbratt]

What is the name of your state? Oregon.

This is my problem, My brother in law is married and he is in jail right now because of his wife, she has filed for a divorce and all and she is now moving out of the home, that is all fine but can she legally take everything out of the home or does he get anything at all? Is there a way that we can get permission from him to go and take his things out of the home, Oh and that is the other thing, we sold them the house in 1998 and they never did put it in their name and there is a tax lien on the house and on our credit, can we lock her and him out of the house are we still the owners of the home? I am just not sure what to do at this point. Thank you for any help you can offer.

 

[OnlyOneVoice]

can she legally take everything out of the home or does he get anything at all?

If there is no decree on file determining the possession of assets from the marriage, if he's incarcerated, there is absolutely no way you can stop her from taking everything out of the house.

Is there a way that we can get permission from him to go and take his things out of the home,

You could get his permission,(it probably should be notarized, but finding a notary at a jail or getting one to go with you may not be easy. Even with that in hand, since he's incarcerated, she could still prevent you from entering the home. You may have to take a deputy with you.

Oh and that is the other thing, we sold them the house in 1998 and they never did put it in their name and there is a tax lien on the house and on our credit, can we lock her and him out of the house are we still the owners of the home?

Did you execute a contract for the sale of the home to your brother and his wife and does she have a copy of that loan agreement? If the title was never transfered, legally (on paper) you are still the owners, however you cannot just lock her out because you want to.

The fact that she has lived in the home for the amount of time you stated will give credence to the fact that the house is her residence and therefore unless you foreclose, you can't just go in and remove her. Also without a "rental agreement" she may also be able to prove the "purchase" of the home again making it not legal to "lock her out" if she's making the payments to you.

You may be able to forclose on the house on the basis of the Tax lien, but that takes time. Also, if you intend to forclose there are requirements that must be followed for a foreclosure to be legal.

I would seek the advice of a family law attorney regarding the "divorce" and then seek the advice of a real-estate lawyer to find out your options regarding regaining possession of the house.

Since they aren't in default on the actual loan, you may have a rough go getting the house "back".

 

[xidbratt]

Thank you.....

I was able to speak to an real estate attorney today and he let us know that even though they did not put the house in their names we were still not liable for the tax lien and we could get that off of our credit easily so just to let it go and let them deal with the taxes and such.

Thank you for your advice on both matters, we will be speaking with his attorney in the morning about retreiving his things from the home.