Divorce May Mean Changing Home Title
Added March 9, 2007 by Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. TamkinSummary: When a divorce occurs, it's important that the title be in the name of the person who will own the home going forward. And while the spouse who keeps the home may want the mortgage loan in only her name, it isn't critical to refinance to remove the other spouse's name. The spouse who no longer has any interest in the home should be the one requesting a refinance of the mortgage loan, not the spouse who continues to own and live in the home.
Q: I am divorced and own a small home in Blue Ridge, GA. My ex-husband fled approximately one year ago and cannot be found.
The court awarded me our house. I am trying to get his name off of the existing mortgage. How do I do this without paying off the existing mortgage?
A: There are two important issues you need to separate: Ownership of the property and the mortgage that a lender gave to you and your husband. The most important thing for you to do first is to be sure your ex-husband's name is off of the title to the property.
When you purchased the home, you and your husband took title jointly. Now that you are divorced and the court awarded you title to the home, you may need to have the court go further and have a deed issued by the court conveying your ex-husband's interest in the home to you. Once you have the court issue the deed, the home will be all yours.
As far as the mortgage is concerned, there were many documents that you and your ex-husband signed when you received a loan from the bank. All of these documents held you and your ex-husband jointly liable for the repayment of the loan that the bank gave you. It is your ex-husband who should want you to refinance the debt and take his name off the loan. From your perspective, if the rate on your loan is better that what you can get in the marketplace today, you should keep the loan as long as possible.
When the rate in the marketplace is lower than the rate you currently have, then at that time you should refinance the loan -- you'll benefit from the lower interest rates and his name would no longer be on the mortgage to the home.
But as long as you get the title transferred to your name only, it doesn't matter that his name is on the mortgage.
March 9, 2007.
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Comments
Evelyn Delgado says
My ex and I have been divorced for 5 years. The house was in his name but I have paid the mortage and all the bills since he moved out. He now owns his own home and has asked me to change the title of the home into mine. How can I do this without going through a bank and without spending a lot of money?