Divorce and your property is a common focus in our industry. When someone is getting a divorce and they find me, the questions remain the same. How do I remove my spouse from the property after divorce? …get my spouse off the title of the house? …get my hands on the equity of my house efficiently to buyout my spouse so I can keep the house? These are common questions.
Removing Spouse from the Mortgage
The clear cut answer regarding removing an x-spouse from the mortgage after divorce is, refinance. I never say never, so I can not say any lender in the history of lending has not done it, but in today’s times, you have a near 0% chance of talking a lender into removing your x-spouse from a joint credit mortgage account…leaving just you on it. If the x-spouse is on that loan with you, the lender assumes qualification for that mortgage was decided on both of you being on it. Therefore, you need to refinance. If the divorce decree states that the leaving spouse no longer has rights to that house, the title company at closing will remove the x-spouse from title as part of the process. I do this for clients all the time and you should refinance with a Certified Divorce Lending Professional like myself. The divorce takes the process into a non-typical track in the process. So call me.
Removing Spouse from Title – Quit Claim Deed
I am not an attorney, so I will not try to talk about the law. Removing your x-spouse from title is a little trickier than removing them from the mortgage, as it relates to laws. The variable in question in this conversation is the quitclaim deed. It transfers the grantor’s interests in a piece of Real Estate. Many people use this legal vehicle or instrument to remove the leaving spouse from title after a divorce. The lender has the right to call the note due if you remove someone from title that was part of the ownership upon loan approval. On the other hand, In the near 20yrs I have been helping divorce clients, I have never heard of an instance where it has actually happened. The no risk way to remove a spouse from title after divorce is to refinance and do it as part of the process. I do this all the time too.
Leave a Reply