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House Title

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stepmomIL

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? IL

When my ex husband and I got divorced, he signed the Quit Claim Deed on the house we owned at the time. I am in the process of buying a new home and selling the old one. Just recently, I discovered, when I refinanced the old house- after the divorce, somehow the paperwork was messed up and he is still on the title. I am supposed to close on the house tomorrow--Is he entitled or can he claim anything from the sale- due to still being on the title?
 


Bali Hai

Senior Member
stepmomIL said:
What is the name of your state? IL

When my ex husband and I got divorced, he signed the Quit Claim Deed on the house we owned at the time. I am in the process of buying a new home and selling the old one. Just recently, I discovered, when I refinanced the old house- after the divorce, somehow the paperwork was messed up and he is still on the title. I am supposed to close on the house tomorrow--Is he entitled or can he claim anything from the sale- due to still being on the title?
If he signed a quit claim and it was filed in the clerks office, how can his name still be on the title to the property in question?
 

stepmomIL

Junior Member
reply

I am not sure. Somehow, either the attorney or the bank messed something up in the paperwork. As I was preparing for closing, my real estate attn. noticed his name still on the title..
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
stepmomIL said:
I am not sure. Somehow, either the attorney or the bank messed something up in the paperwork. As I was preparing for closing, my real estate attn. noticed his name still on the title..
Where is the quit claim with original signature?
 

nextwife

Senior Member
I'm guessing the original deed is still sitting in the attorney's file, and they forgot to send it for recording. Going to the courthouse won't help you unless the doc is "of record". Call the attorney and have him pull the old file out of storage to check for it. Or the lender's closing agent, or both!
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
nextwife said:
I'm guessing the original deed is still sitting in the attorney's file, and they forgot to send it for recording. Going to the courthouse won't help you unless the doc is "of record". Call the attorney and have him pull the old file out of storage to check for it. Or the lender's closing agent, or both!
My guess is that she'll get a quicker answer as to where that document is located by attempting to retrieve it from where it is supposed to be.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
Bali Hai said:
My guess is that she'll get a quicker answer as to where that document is located by attempting to retrieve it from where it is supposed to be.
Hon, the title company searching the record, the experienced title searchers, already DID check the records and could not FIND a deed. That is how she knew it does NOT appear to be recorded. If the title company couldn't find it of record, it was either misposted or not recorded to begin with.
Looking for it where they've already looked will likely not get her anywhere. The more likely scenario is one I have seen time and again - original doc is still sitting in an attorney or closing agent's file.
 

stepmomIL

Junior Member
heres what i found

You are correct- the original attorney never filed the Quit Claim Deed--my ex husband signed off on it like he was supposed to--Now what? Is he entitled to anything b/c of my attorney's/ bank/title company mistake?
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
stepmomIL said:
You are correct- the original attorney never filed the Quit Claim Deed--my ex husband signed off on it like he was supposed to--Now what? Is he entitled to anything b/c of my attorney's/ bank/title company mistake?
Wow, that was fast work. Have you asked your original attorney where the h--l is the quit claim?

You know what the first thing I did when my ex-wife signed the quit claim deed and my attorney said he recorded it? I went to the court house and paid to get a copy of it just to make sure he did it and that it matched the copy I had in my possession.
 
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nextwife

Senior Member
Contact the attorney and see if you can produce the original deed from their file. Have them courier it to the title company first thing in the morning. Then the title company can revise title to reflect you as owner, based upon a requirement that the QC be recorded first.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
stepmomIL said:
is my ex husband legally entitled to anything from the sale?
NO...you have a quit claim deed, you just need to get ahold of it and produce it for the title company. Just because it wasn't recorded then doesn't mean that it can't be recorded now.
 

Gadfly

Senior Member
While you are at it and before you forget, look at your original divorce agreement and recheck to make sure that everything that jointly had both your names on it has been put in the proper name. Real estate, cars, boats, loans etc. Your attorney screwed up on the most expensive thing you own, don't expect the "little" things to have been taken care of properly.
 

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