IL Quit Claim Process

[fletcher969]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? IL

Hi,

Hopefully I’m not attempting to resurrecting a dead horse, but I’ve searched the forums, and I can’t find any threads that sufficiently address my questions below. Hopefully too, my questions are more appropriate for this forum, and not the Family Law forum. If so, simply indicate same, and I’ll post it there instead. Onward…

My girlfriend finalized her divorce a couple of months ago [and just in case your mind is in the gutter, I met her after she filed for divorce ]. In the decree her ex-husband was ordered to quit claim the marital home to her within 30 days, but he refuses to do so. Consider the following:

1. My girlfriend’s name is not, nor has it ever been on the deed.
2. The home was purchased after they were married.
3. Her ex-husband is the sole mortgagee.
4. She currently lives in the marital home with their 7 year old son.
5. She has, and continues to be the only one paying on the mortgage.
6. She spent most of her savings on legal fees, and has very little left for more.


Question: What (low-cost?) legal remedies are available to my girlfriend to enforce the court’s quit claim order other than filing a motion for him to appear in court (I’m assuming it would be for contempt of court), if any? Is her divorce decree sufficient evidence for the local authorities to act upon for enforcement (I’m assuming not)?

Question: Aside from signing the quit claim, and recording it with the county (which is Cook), is there anything else required legally to properly and fully transfer ownership of the property? Are there any financial ramifications specifically associated wirh the quit claim process which my girlfriend must be aware of and assume (i.e. aside from recordation fees) that might grossly affect her ability to see the process through? Also, if her ex-husband refuses to pay for the transfer taxes (which is very likely), is my girlfriend then in any way liable for same?

Question: Is she "legally" required (i.e. MUST she) refinance the house once the house it quit claimed to her, or, if circumstances permit, can she legally continue to pay the mortgage on her ex-husbands loan (he said he doesn’t care one way or the other)? The reason I ask is that her credit was damaged just prior to her filing for divorce (her ex-husband abused their joint accounts) and it’s questionable if the bank will even refinance her, and if they do, they’ll probably apply an interest rate that would put the mortgage payments out of reach (she can barely afford them now, because her ex-husband refinanced the house just prior to her filing, and took most of the equity out of the house, doubling the mortgage payments in the process).

Any other considerations I might have missed?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[nextwife]

Most divorces these days take into account the lender issues in deeding property. It is likely that some requirement that she refinance is included in the divorce decree. This is for a VERY good reason: The "debt obligation" continues for the borrower for however long the mortgage remains unsatisfied. Which can be as much as thirty years. This impacts the other parties credit score and future borrowing ability. Frankly, anyone who'd willingly deed away a property for which they remained liable on the mortgage is a first class FOOL. Any QC is normally done in conjunction with paying off the mortage - EITHER by sale or refinance.

If she is not even on the deed, a QC would likely trigger the Due on Transfer clause that is part of most all mortgages, which means the lender would call the loan due in full.

If she wants the home, she should be prepared to refinance or pay off the loan. If she can't she should sell, and he can QC at the closing.

[LindaP777]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Most divorces these days take into account the lender issues in deeding property. It is likely that some requirement that she refinance is included in the divorce decree. This is for a VERY good reason: The "debt obligation" continues for the borrower for however long the mortgage remains unsatisfied. Which can be as much as thirty years. This impacts the other parties credit score and future borrowing ability. Frankly, anyone who'd willingly deed away a property for which they remained liable on the mortgage is a first class FOOL. Any QC is normally done in conjunction with paying off the mortage - EITHER by sale or refinance.

If she is not even on the deed, a QC would likely trigger the Due on Transfer clause that is part of most all mortgages, which means the lender would call the loan due in full.

If she wants the home, she should be prepared to refinance or pay off the loan. If she can't she should sell, and he can QC at the closing.

YEP . . . summed up nicely!

[fletcher969]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Most divorces these days take into account the lender issues in deeding property. It is likely that some requirement that she refinance is included in the divorce decree. This is for a VERY good reason: The "debt obligation" continues for the borrower for however long the mortgage remains unsatisfied. Which can be as much as thirty years. This impacts the other parties credit score and future borrowing ability. Frankly, anyone who'd willingly deed away a property for which they remained liable on the mortgage is a first class FOOL. Any QC is normally done in conjunction with paying off the mortage - EITHER by sale or refinance.

If she is not even on the deed, a QC would likely trigger the Due on Transfer clause that is part of most all mortgages, which means the lender would call the loan due in full.

If she wants the home, she should be prepared to refinance or pay off the loan. If she can't she should sell, and he can QC at the closing.

Nextwife, thanks for the reply. Believe it or not, her decree makes no mention of lender issues. They are completely absent, only stating in the simplest of terms "...quit claim house over to petitioner within 30 days." Her ex-husband, on the other hand, only said that he didn't care about his credit, though he'd have nothing to worry about regardless, as my girlfriend can hardly afford to not pay the mortgage as she and her son would end up on the street (ok, I'd take them in, but her life would be far too complicated for it to be an option in any event). I will pass along the information, and let her decide what she needs to do with the quick claim given the bank will likely respond as you indicated. Perhaps she can wait to push the issue until which time she's ready to sell the place or knows better what her refinancing options are.

It just occured to me...what if she were to get the quit claim signed, but held off recording it immediately until she was ready to sell or refinance when her financial situation favors it (I'm not suggesting she wait years, but perhaps several months)? Are there legal issues surrounding such an action, or is she required by law to record the deed within a specific amount of time?

Thanks!