Status of house

What is the name of your state? CA

We are still in process of property settlement. I want to keep house, have been making all payments for the last year, status taken dec 02. He wants to force a sale, or make me refi. I can't qualify for new loan due to credit/income issues. I have primary custody of 3 minor children. Are there other negotiable options I'm not considering? I have an atty, but am not being given a lot of help. Also division of debt is major issue. I want to file bk, he does not. Debt is substantial. Have approx 70K equity in house. Debt at about 28K. Any ideas?

Idea..

get another lawyer!

You're going to have to do something to get off of all that equity built up in the home. Obviously it would be more than enough to pay off the debt and probably a better option than bankruptcy. Your husband is also due his portion of the community.

In the community property cases I've dealt with the only options are refinance or sell....however I am not familiar with CA law. IAAL would be able to help you out with that.

"We are still in process of property settlement. I want to keep house, have been making all payments for the last year, status taken dec 02."
*** And presumably he wants his share of the value out of the house. Simply, there is no way to do that unless you either sell or refinance. Further, he very likely wants his name off the mortgage..... and its obligation. Again, the only way to do that is.... to sell or refinance.

"He wants to force a sale, or make me refi."
*** How else do you propose him getting 'his' share of the value of the house???

"I can't qualify for new loan due to credit/income issues."
*** Then, the only obvious choice is to sell the property.

"I have primary custody of 3 minor children. Are there other negotiable options I'm not considering?"
*** Not that I am aware of.

"I have an atty, but am not being given a lot of help. Also division of debt is major issue. I want to file bk, he does not. Debt is substantial. Have approx 70K equity in house. Debt at about 28K. Any ideas?"
*** There are no magic fairies or wands that anyone can wave or spells to incant. Simply, this is a divorce and each party has the right to their 'share' of the marital assets. If you want the house, then you may have to forego other things. However, since it sounds like the mortgage may be at risk, it would be more logical to sell the property and rent.

Or buy a much less pricey place that you CAN afford. Maybe a condo, if you do not wish to rent, with payments that you do qualify for. There are very good reasons for him to demand his name be off the mortgage if you want the house. Plus, he has an equal right to equity built up during the marriage. Avoiding BK allows both of you the option of buying again at some point without waiting the 7 years.

When my parents devorced, there was a similar problem. I know that my father ended up leaving my mother the house because she had myself and my sister to care for, but he left her in debt and she was working extremely hard to pay her bills. Eventually she sold the house and moved in with a friend for a year (my sister and I are both in college now). She used most of the money from the house to pay off the back bills, but her credit has not been repaired yet.

I think you should:
1. get a different lawyer
2. since you have custody of your childen, pettion for the house (it's in they're best interest)
3. sell the house and buy something you can afford. if you can pay off your morgage and have money left over, you can by yourself a smaller place and pay upfront (that's what my mother did). it will also help you in the long run if you pay upfront, because you will have one less bill to worry about without a morgage.

"since you have custody of your childen, pettion for the house (it's in they're best interest)"
*** Wrong. As noted in my earlier post, the family court has absolutely NOTHING to do with this issue. They cannot order a change in the mortgage obligation.

JETX said:

"since you have custody of your childen, pettion for the house (it's in they're best interest)"
*** Wrong. As noted in my earlier post, the family court has absolutely NOTHING to do with this issue. They cannot order a change in the mortgage obligation.

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I didn't mean as a way to change the mortgage. I thought the ex husband was trying to keep her from getting the house.

Iroc24 said:

I didn't mean as a way to change the mortgage. I thought the ex husband was trying to keep her from getting the house.

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And what part of 'He wants to .... make me refi." would make you think that???
He clearly (and as correctly noted by several responses already) wants to get his name off of the mortgage and/or get his 'share' of the equity out of the property.