Property

[mm001]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

I am going through a divorce with a two year old child. I moved out of the home with my child. He is paying for the mortgage and the bills associated with the house as I am paying for the apartment and the bills associated with it. The home is in both of our names. Can he at any point take the my name off of the home without my permission or have the mortgage company do it by showing that he has been the person paying the mortgage?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

I am going through a divorce with a two year old child. I moved out of the home with my child. He is paying for the mortgage and the bills associated with the house as I am paying for the apartment and the bills associated with it. The home is in both of our names. Can he at any point take the my name off of the home without my permission or have the mortgage company do it by showing that he has been the person paying the mortgage?

He absolutely cannot remove your name from the deed without your approval/signature or a court order. He might be able to remove your name from the mortgage, but that is also unlikely.

 

[mm001]

While this is in Court, i am assuming even if he tries to get a Court Order, that he will be entitled to give me 50% of the equity on the home whatever it maybe after an appraisal?

 

[LdiJ]

While this is in Court, i am assuming even if he tries to get a Court Order, that he will be entitled to give me 50% of the equity on the home whatever it maybe after an appraisal?

Yes, you would be entitled to 1/2 of the equity, and he would have to refinance to remove your name from the mortgage. You would then give him a quit claim deed at the time that the house was refinanced and your 50% of the equity paid out.

However...all marital assets and debts must be split 50/50, so sometimes home equity is exchanged for other marital assets, or debts.

For example, if you have no debt (other than houses and cars) but you have a 401k that is roughly the same as the home equity, and he does not, then you may get to keep your entire 401k, in exchange for him keeping the equity in the home.

Or in the alternative, if you have marital debt that is roughly equal to the home equity, then he might keep the equity and take full responsibility for the marital debt.

Those are extremely simplistic examples, and in most cases there is a lot more to figure out in a property settlement than that, but they are just to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

 

[mistoffolees]

For example, if you have no debt (other than houses and cars) but you have a 401k that is roughly the same as the home equity, and he does not, then you may get to keep your entire 401k, in exchange for him keeping the equity in the home.

This has come up before.

DO NOT DO THIS.

The 401K is pre-tax dollars. When you take the money out, you pay taxes on it (and a penalty if you take it out early).

I can't predict what your tax rate will be when you retire, but it is likely to be greater than zero (possibly significantly greater than zero). That means that the 401K will be worth less.

Any trade-off of pre-tax and after-tax assets MUST be corrected for the taxes you'll have to pay.