Ex Wife foreclosed on hom

[socalstressed]

California.
My husband's ex wife allowed their mutually owned home to go into foreclosure in Feb 2008. She had approached my husband with a Quit Claim in October 2007 and they hand wrote an agreement for $5000 for the quit claim which they both signed. She later refused to follow through on this agreement and stopped paying the mortgage two weeks after she signed this agreement with my husband. According to the divorce decree she was responsible for the home and the mortgage payments. We can prove that she had the money available to pay for the mortgage ($7,000 in the bank and the mortgage was only $523/month) and did not. My husband has now recieved a 1099C for for $31000 that must be reported on our taxes. She signed all mortgage paperwork yet has not been reported to a credit bureau for this and has not been contacted for collections and refuses to claim this 1099C amount on her taxes. What legal recourse do we have?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by socalstressed

California.
My husband's ex wife allowed their mutually owned home to go into foreclosure in Feb 2008. She had approached my husband with a Quit Claim in October 2007 and they hand wrote an agreement for $5000 for the quit claim which they both signed. She later refused to follow through on this agreement and stopped paying the mortgage two weeks after she signed this agreement with my husband. According to the divorce decree she was responsible for the home and the mortgage payments. We can prove that she had the money available to pay for the mortgage ($7,000 in the bank and the mortgage was only $523/month) and did not. My husband has now recieved a 1099C for for $31000 that must be reported on our taxes. She signed all mortgage paperwork yet has not been reported to a credit bureau for this and has not been contacted for collections and refuses to claim this 1099C amount on her taxes. What legal recourse do we have?

**A: your husband messed up by not paying the mortgage when it became in default. He can sue her but it would be a waste of $$$$.

[socalstressed]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: your husband messed up by not paying the mortgage when it became in default. He can sue her but it would be a waste of $$$$.

My husband did not have the money to pay the mortgage which is why she was responsible for it. Was he supposed to pay her $1250/month in Child Support and her mortgage amount? She had $7000 in the bank and we can prove that. She didn't pay it because he moved on with his life and moved in with me. She is the one that messed up, not him. But you comment is very common in these cases.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by socalstressed

My husband did not have the money to pay the mortgage which is why she was responsible for it. Was he supposed to pay her $1250/month in Child Support and her mortgage amount? She had $7000 in the bank and we can prove that. She didn't pay it because he moved on with his life and moved in with me. She is the one that messed up, not him. But you comment is very common in these cases.

**A: my comment was based on the mortgage lending, divorce, real estate and contract law, so therefore there was a perfectly legal basis for such commentary.
You can give whatever excuses you want but the reality is that husband signed a mortgage note agreeing to pay the mortgage company. The mortgage note did not have a clause such as "if borrower has no money borrower does not have to pay" etc. Furthermore, the mortgage lender does not recognize divorces and agreements made in connection with same in that such agreements do not change the mortgagors liability with respect to the mortgage. In other words, the mortgage lender did not care if he got divorced and he made an agreement that the ex would pay the mortgage payments. He would be still liable to the mortgage lender. So from a purely legal standpoint, he in fact did mess up.
It appears that the property went into foreclosure and was sold at a loss thereby creating the 1099C issue. Legally, the mortgage lender can go after him for the $31,000 deficiency under the joint and several liability clause.
I suggest you stop being so emotional and understand these circumstances from a legal standpoint.

[nextwife]

For clarification:

"Ex Wife foreclosed on home"

The ex DID NOT foreclose on the home. She COULD NOT foreclose, as she did not own the MORTGAGE. Her lender foreclosed on the home she owned.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by nextwife

For clarification:

"Ex Wife foreclosed on home"

The ex DID NOT foreclose on the home. She COULD NOT foreclose, as she did not own the MORTGAGE. Her lender foreclosed on the home she owned.

**A: correct but we know what the OP meant.