Refinance / Remove my name?

[gager2002]

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

MY ex-wife wanted the house, I didn't. So she got it and all responsibilities for it, including the payments. Divorce was final July 2, 2007. Now re-married since September 2007, she and her new husband have yet to refinance. My name and SS# is continually being tarnished due to her not paying the mortgage. They now have 3 incomes including my child support and both are employed. What can I do? What forms can I file myself and where? I don't want the house, just my name off of it. If I need to reverse this, and take ownership and then sell forthe balance of the loan, then ok.
Thank you

Richard

 

[mistoffolees]

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

MY ex-wife wanted the house, I didn't. So she got it and all responsibilities for it, including the payments. Divorce was final July 2, 2007. Now re-married since September 2007, she and her new husband have yet to refinance. My name and SS# is continually being tarnished due to her not paying the mortgage. They now have 3 incomes including my child support and both are employed. What can I do? What forms can I file myself and where? I don't want the house, just my name off of it. If I need to reverse this, and take ownership and then sell forthe balance of the loan, then ok.
Thank you

Richard

You may not be able to get what you wish.

What does the divorce decree say? Does it require her to refinance by a given date? If so, then you can file for contempt and ask the court to order refinancing (again) or have the house sold.

If there is nothing in the decree ordering her to refinance, you could, in principle, sue her for damaging your credit rating, but it would be inordinately difficult to prove monetary damages sufficient to make the effort worthwhile.

 

[justalayman]

if the refi is not included in the divorce decree, you may be stuck with a quite expensive choice.

1.make any late payments to avoid injury to your credit. Sue her for the money.

2. file a suit to partition. If the court agrees, they will require she either refi or they will ell the house to remedy the situation. There could still be money owed on the mortgage which would be owed equally by the both of you.

just tell me one thing;

You did not deed the property to her without her getting your name off the mortgage loan.

 

[gager2002]

I did not deed the house to her. There is a promisary note only signed by her, stating she will refinance after graduation from nursing school and the start of her job. She graduated and started her new job in May. We discussed it and she has no plans or intintions due to the fact that her and her husbands credit will not allow the bank to refi. Is there any filing that I can do to at least protect my credit. I am not the custodial parent of out 3 kids, but they are with me 5 days of EVERY week. She works nights, and he works construction (long hours) so they want their weekends so I pick them up every Thursday and return them on Monday afternoon. So I am trying to buy a house for the extra room for my kids. My lawyer since the divorce has retired, and I cannot get a return call. Why would the refi date or mandatory sell not be in the decree?
Oh btw, the mortgage company has not call or mailed me to notify me of any late payments. I have now, since awarding the house over (2) 60 days, and (2) 30 days. The mortage company was notified by me last year of all this, and they do have my address and phone numbers. But they have not notified me...

 

[justalayman]

Is there any filing that I can do to at least protect my credit.

only filing a check of the appropriate amount with the lender on a monthly basis.

I am not the custodial parent of out 3 kids, but they are with me 5 days of EVERY week.

do youpay child support? If so, you may consider filing for a modification due to the amount of time you have the children, or possibly a change of custody even.

Why would the refi date or mandatory sell not be in the decree?

because you did not insist that it is.

Oh btw, the mortgage company has not call or mailed me to notify me of any late payments. I have now, since awarding the house over (2) 60 days, and (2) 30 days. The mortage company was notified by me last year of all this, and they do have my address and phone numbers. But they have not notified me

then you may want to ask them why. Talk with them and ask them how to have them send you notification as well as your ex. I am sure they see this kind of thing all the time and have systems in place to handle it.

so, you did not really make it clear; what was in the divorce decree regarding the disposition of the house and the mortgage loan? It sounds like maybe nothing but you have an independant agreement to remedy the situation.

 

[gager2002]

only filing a check of the appropriate amount with the lender on a monthly basis.

do youpay child support? If so, you may consider filing for a modification due to the amount of time you have the children, or possibly a change of custody even.
Yes, I do. 30% actually.

because you did not insist that it is.
Was not informed that we could do that. No offense, but some of the lawyers I have delt with only offer information, if you ask for it. It seems like too much trouble or going out of their way to come up with some important things like this until afterwards. Well, I guess they could get more money (by the hour) to ammend the decree and more money (to reprint) the decree and more money (to mail the decree).


then you may want to ask them why. Talk with them and ask them how to have them send you notification as well as your ex. I am sure they see this kind of thing all the time and have systems in place to handle it.
Am I protectet somehow on the past neg. hits on the report from the divorce date to now?

so, you did not really make it clear; what was in the divorce decree regarding the disposition of the house and the mortgage loan? It sounds like maybe nothing but you have an independant agreement to remedy the situation.

The decree only states " All intrests in the following real property, including but not limited to any escrow funds, prepaid insurance, utility deposits, keys, house plans, home security access, and code, garage door opener, warranties, and service contracts and title and closing documents." and another location states " It is ordered and decreed that petitioner, EX, shall pay, as a part of the division of the estate of the parties, the following and shall indemnify and hold Richard ME, and his property harmless from any failure to so discharge these items:
1 Any and all debts, charges, liabilites, and other obligations incurred solely by EX from and after the date of separation, March 17, 2007.
2 Any and all debts associated with the award of personal and real property to EX in this decree, including but not limited to the balance on the mortgage associated with the community residence financed through, Mortgage Company, account # 00000, in the approximate amount of $0000.

 

[justalayman]

well, that sure doesn't help you, much. It basically means she cannot come after you for the money but, obviously since the mortgage lender is not a party to your divorce, prevent them from coming after you for it or reporting late payments to your credit report.

It does nothing to urge her to remedy this situation since there is no time limit for her to take action.

The only two things I can think of are:

file for contempt against her since she has failed to abide by this part of the decree:

EX, shall pay, as a part of the division of the estate of the parties, the following and shall indemnify and hold Richard ME, and his property harmless from any failure to so discharge these items:
1 Any and all debts, charges, liabilites, and other obligations incurred solely by EX from and after the date of separation, March 17, 2007.
2 Any and all debts associated with the award of personal and real property to EX in this decree, including but not limited to the balance on the mortgage associated with the community residence financed through, Mortgage Company, account # 00000, in the approximate amount of $0000.

while she cannot hold you responsible for the debts, just the same, it states it is her requirement to pay those debts. Since it appears she has failed to pay those debts (and I would interpret the verbiage as requiring to pay as agreed per the loan documents), you may be able to ask the courts to charge her with contempt and could further order her to remove you from the mortgage loan obligation (refi the loan). You can ask the court to insert a time limit in which she must take action and failure to do so insert verbiage that mandates the sale of the house to remedy the co-debtor situation.

or, simply file a suit to partition which would result in a direct order to either she satisfy the current loan or the house will be sold to do so. The problem with this is it then becomes more of a court controlled situation and considering the housing market currently, could result in a sale price not great enough to satisfy the loan. You would know more about the equity and current sale prices than I ever could.

In either case, it is going to mean going back into court, which means, at least, some additional expenses.

then you may want to ask them why. Talk with them and ask them how to have them send you notification as well as your ex. I am sure they see this kind of thing all the time and have systems in place to handle it.

Am I protectet somehow on the past neg. hits on the report from the divorce date to now?

No. As far as they are concerned, you are just aas liable for the loan as she is and will report it as such. Kind of sucks but such is divorce.

I was simply suggesting if you have notice to prevent injury to your credit, you then have the opportunity to do so but will have to seek repayment from the ex via the courts though.

 

[gager2002]

Thanks. Well just for information - The home was appraised at $135K and the payoff on the loan is $85K there is also an ajoining lot that was awarded to her also with a value of $18K. I want nothing to do with the house or its equity. Just want my name cleared, you know? The cost to go back to court is not a problem for me at all. Well, I don't want to spent another $3K. It cost me $6K, my house, my land, and $50K of my 401K. Which could have helped her knock down the loan amount and refi with out any problem. But implants and cars were more important. lol Actually I really don't care about all that, again I just want my name cleared.

 

[justalayman]

[

QUOTE=gager2002;1965649] But implants and cars were more important. lol

well, we all have our priorities.

 

[gager2002]

Thanks all of you. You are greatly appreciated.

Since my information is all in here and some background can I ask some custody questions in this same thread?

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks all of you. You are greatly appreciated.

Since my information is all in here and some background can I ask some custody questions in this same thread?

Sure, that's fine.

 

[gager2002]

Originally, back during the divorce I did not contest the nor see the concern for a custody battle. During the end of the divorce a man moved into they kids and ex's house. I have known him for 10 years and the same for my ex. He has always been known as being very possessive. This is not my concern at all. Im just giving a little description. Exacly to the 45th day after the divorce was granted, she and he were married. This is all cool and everything, but... Imediately, they (witnessed by neighbors, my kids, and family 'both hers and mine') they are drinking heavily daily and smoking. The smoking is unreal, about a carton every 2 days, inside the house. I really feel this is a serious health concern and risk. My children are 14f, 8f, and 5m. All three are now begging to live with me. Due to the possession issue, he demands all my ex attention, again fine by me, but the kids want out because, their words ' we don't have a mother anymore'. "She never does anything with them." "Dad, their always drunk, they always have parties." "Kris, (ex new step son, 16) smokes stuff that smell funny." NOTE: he has been kicked out last week. Their lifestyle is not my concern, but this is completely the opposite of normalcy that the kids have been used to since birth. I have the means to care for them, family support, child care for them, and deffinately a more stable invironment. No nightly verbal fighting in my house as I am living alone. My question is, what are the difficulties in going back for a custody fight to get my children out of this?

 

[seagoing]

When it came down to where the children live,my son was 13 and he got to choose,i live in Fl.so i dont know if laws differ regarding that.But based on your mort.problem and fact kids are unhappy wanting to live with you,you might want to get in front of the judge,I ts my understanding if you can get contempt,you can sue for atty,fees .The judge may interview the children regarding their wishes and their reasoning.Based on what you write ,sounds like judge may consider custody.A friend of mine also had custody change,His atty.told him to keep a log of childrens visits,what they did,any problems with ex.and he was awarded custody.

 

[gager2002]

You see that's what Ive been doing. I have they every single weekend (Fiday afternoon until Monday evening) and again on Wednesdays until Thursday morning. She now is a nurse and works 12-hour shifts. When the kids are with me, she never calls them, even when I have them for weeks at a time. I have always thought the custodial parent would have to do something really crazy to have a judge change the custody. So that is why i asked. I am a licensed foster parent for Harris County, Houston Texas. So I have onyl seen extreme cases. Well, I do believe that amount of smoking is endangering their health and lives. The constant fighting between my ex and her husband doesnt sound good either. Ok, here is another question, do I need a lawyer to file something to talk to a judge about both issues, (house mortgage and custody)? I guess, what are the procedures? Can an individual do it? If not, about what will an attorney charge for this service? Time to do it? ok so it was a few questions...

OH btw, the child care they currently have even through the nights is an older half sister (17), who is very ugly and rude to them. She even says she's their mother when the real one is away.

 

[LdiJ]

You see that's what Ive been doing. I have they every single weekend (Fiday afternoon until Monday evening) and again on Wednesdays until Thursday morning. She now is a nurse and works 12-hour shifts. When the kids are with me, she never calls them, even when I have them for weeks at a time. I have always thought the custodial parent would have to do something really crazy to have a judge change the custody. So that is why i asked. I am a licensed foster parent for Harris County, Houston Texas. So I have onyl seen extreme cases. Well, I do believe that amount of smoking is endangering their health and lives. The constant fighting between my ex and her husband doesnt sound good either. Ok, here is another question, do I need a lawyer to file something to talk to a judge about both issues, (house mortgage and custody)? I guess, what are the procedures? Can an individual do it? If not, about what will an attorney charge for this service? Time to do it? ok so it was a few questions...

OH btw, the child care they currently have even through the nights is an older half sister (17), who is very ugly and rude to them. She even says she's their mother when the real one is away.

I would definitely hire an attorney to handle both issues....particularly since you have a potential custody battle as well. Talk to the attorney about whether or not you have enough ammo to file for primary custody.

Although, it may not change things as much as you think. You actually have them 4 nights a week now, and mom 3, that means, for all practical purposes you have primary right now. I can't see a judge cutting mom down much more than what standard visitation would be, (but on different days, since she works weekends) so it might not change things all that much for the kids.