Husband used home as bail collateral without informing wife.

A friend of mine recently found out that her husband had used the marital home as bail bond collateral in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, she was not informed of the bond until he disappeared and did not show up for court. She is currently in default on the mortgage, and there is a lien on the home due to the bond. In Pennsylvania, can an agrument be made that the wife was unaware of the bond, and therefore, the lien against the home should not stand. I believe that the type of ownership of the property will be the deciding factor (ie, tenants in common or the entirety), however, this is a woman who has just been left essentially homeless with three small children. She was hoping that the sale of the home would cover all costs, the mortgage, etc. and leave a little money to feed and clothe her children. Due to the lien, she will probably have to pay over and above what is received from the sale of the home. To date, her lawyer has not returned her phone calls. I'd like to recommend a course of action for her before she spends money consulting another lawyer. I only practice tax law so my knowledge of property law is a little rusty. Thank you in advance.

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by HDB_PSU_DSL_98:
A friend of mine recently found out that her husband had used the marital home as bail bond collateral in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, she was not informed of the bond until he disappeared and did not show up for court. She is currently in default on the mortgage, and there is a lien on the home due to the bond. In Pennsylvania, can an agrument be made that the wife was unaware of the bond, and therefore, the lien against the home should not stand. I believe that the type of ownership of the property will be the deciding factor (ie, tenants in common or the entirety), however, this is a woman who has just been left essentially homeless with three small children. She was hoping that the sale of the home would cover all costs, the mortgage, etc. and leave a little money to feed and clothe her children. Due to the lien, she will probably have to pay over and above what is received from the sale of the home. To date, her lawyer has not returned her phone calls. I'd like to recommend a course of action for her before she spends money consulting another lawyer. I only practice tax law so my knowledge of property law is a little rusty. Thank you in advance.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Title was most likely held via JT (JT or Tenants by the Entirety) but if held via Tenants in Common, she would have more of a chance to claim that the lien was not hers. Check on community property laws since she as the spouse may be automatically liable. Because there is a mortgage lender involved, both husband and wife are liable to the lender no matter what type of tenancy there is. The innocent spouse defense is not applicable.

Since you are a tax attorney, we sure could use your help on these boards. Please consider this an open invitation to participate. We have some very excellent advisors helping our readers on this website and always try to have a little fun at the same time.

Since PA isn't a community property state, I believe the money from the sale will be distributed as follows:

1) pay the mortgage & sales commission
2) 1/2 the equity to her
3) 1/2 the equity to the bondsman.

Since she didn't sign the bond lien, her property is not liable for it. She might consider filing for divorce. If she's awarded the house, this might vitiate the lien. I doubt it, but she needs to start the divorce anyway, just to protect herself from his future actions. She might also consider bankruptcy. This will stop the foreclosure & might protect some of her equity.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.