If she won't sign a quitclaim deed

[Gardening Grandma]

How do you go about clearing title?

I don't have all the details right now, but I've just learned that the rental house that DH had before we were married still has his ex's name on the title. He got the house in their divorce (this was in the early 70's). There is no mortgage. He will not ask her to sign a quitclaim deed (and I don't know if she would agree to anyway).

Can he just take the divorce document down to the county records office and ask them to remove her name from the title? Or does he need to see an attorney (which he is not going to want to do). ?

[Deleted]

GG,

You need to persuade DH to clean this up. If "D"exwife gets sued, defaults on cc or gets a tax lien filed against her guess what happens???

[swamp]

Every state is different. In NY, you can't just show the divorce to the County Clerk, you have to actually get a deed signed by the Ex.

There are a few ways to go about it. First, you can ask nicely, and about 75% of the time people do it. Then you have an attorney send a letter to her with the deed and a copy of the divorce decree that says, sign it, we'll pay all the recording costs, or otherwise I'm gonna bring an action to compel you to do it and I'm going to ask the court to pay the costs of the action.

99% of the time, that works.

If she still wont sign it, you bring a motion to enforce the divorce decree, have the sheriff sign on her behalf, and ask her to pay for it. In over10 years of legal practice, I've only had to have the Sheriff sign on behalf of an ex once, and she got stuck with about $3k in legal bills.

[Gardening Grandma]

Well, my first problem is that DH refuses to ask her to sign a quitclaim deed. His exact words were "not gonna happen". ( I guess it was a very ugly divorce).
I'm going to get a copy of the current deed and take it with his divorce papers to a real estate attorney. ASAP. Just wanted to pick the brains here.
Thanks.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Real estate law varies from state to state, but my best guess is that you either need to bring her back to family court for an order signing a Quitclaim Deed, or you may need to file a lawsuit to have the title legally established. Either way, I'd consult an attorney (maybe 2 ...one family, one real estate) and see which way is cheaper. Sometimes just a mean letter from an attorney will make people sign the necessary document)

[Opti]

Jan 30, 2011 12:00:15 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

Well, my first problem is that DH refuses to ask her to sign a quitclaim deed. His exact words were "not gonna happen". ( I guess it was a very ugly divorce).
I'm going to get a copy of the current deed and take it with his divorce papers to a real estate attorney. ASAP. Just wanted to pick the brains here.
Thanks.

Have you pointed out to him that she has 50% rights to the property until he gets her off the title?

[Gardening Grandma]

No but I am going to - today.

[Deleted]

My ex's lawyer forgot to file whatever papers even though he got the house in the divorce. We discovered this when he went to refinance. He simply asked, and I simply signed. I guess in a less amicable situation it would be difficult. How long has it been?

[Gardening Grandma]

I guess in a less amicable situation it would be difficult. How long has it been?

It's been about 40 years!!! (The funny thing is that he is on friendly terms with her sister.) The ex may very well be willing to sign if he simply asked. He refuses to ask. I told him that we are going to go down to the county office this week and get a copy of the deed. I also told him that we are going to take his divorce decree and simply ask if they will remove her name based on the decree.

Plan B (if they won't) is I am going to see a real estate attorney (with or without him) and find out what needs to happen and what the consequences will be if we allow this to continue. And take it from there.

[DVM gone riding]

Tell DH if something happens to him the EX gets the place!!! Maybe that will help him do something about it!! Also get a will in place ASAP so you would have something to stand on if he dies!

[Gardening Grandma]

Tell DH if something happens to him the EX gets the place!!!

Is that true? Or would I have an expensive court fight?


Also get a will in place ASAP so you would have something to stand on if he dies!

We do have a will. And his is very specific about what to do with his separate property (he divided it between my kids, grandkids and some to a charity). Arrgh!

PS - I told him "I understand that it's your property. And I've pretty much refrained from offering advice/suggestions about it for that reason. BUT you need to get clear title!"

[Deleted]

This is how title companies make their money, I'm sure. I don't think she would get 50%; I never thought that when my ex asked me to sign the papers again. I think your (b) "Or would I have an expensive court fight?" would come in place.

Certainly try to do it at the courthouse or whatever. But if not . . . what is YOUR relationship like with her sister? Any chance she would be willing to ask her sister to "clear up" this paperwork? That is what I simply thought of it as.

[Opti]

I think the court fight could come into play if you brought the divorce decree in as evidence but legally speaking as the title is now she would be entitled to the entire property if your DH died now.

[swamp]

Jan 30, 2011 17:15:41 GMT -5 Opti said:

I think the court fight could come into play if you brought the divorce decree in as evidence but legally speaking as the title is now she would be entitled to the entire property if your DH died now.

Not necessarily.

In NY, when spouses buy property together, they own it as tenants by the entirety, which is a type of survivorship ownership. When one spouse dies, the other gets the property. HOwever, if the couple divorces, the tenancy by the entirety becomes a tenancy in common, meaning each party owns half and there is no right of survivorship. If one ex spouse dies, the property goes to the estate. However, since there is a court order in OP's case (the divorce decree) the ex spouse would not be entitled to a share, but unless everyone was in agreement, it could entail some court wrangling.

Situations like this are where I make a fortune. Tell him to keep it the way it is. I like making money from people neglecting to follow through.

[TrixAre4Kids]

Jan 30, 2011 18:29:16 GMT -5 swamp said:

Situations like this are where I make a fortune. Tell him to keep it the way it is. I like making money from people neglecting to follow through.

Trix making a note to update will...

[Deleted]

"Situations like this are where I make a fortune. Tell him to keep it the way it is. I like making money from people neglecting to follow through."

Karma to you Swamp!

Situations like this reminded me of what DH used to say "Why do we need to do Estate Planning? I'll be dead and won't care".
<sigh>
He changed his mind after he saw how long it took me to wrap up my mom's estate and hers was in pretty good order.

Apparently GG's DH has no idea what a PITA and expense it's going to be to fix this mess when he dies. Perhaps equally importantly is the mess he could find himself in if ex's creditors file a lien against the property.

[Gardening Grandma]

Apparently GG's DH has no idea what a PITA and expense it's going to be to fix this mess when he dies. Perhaps equally importantly is the mess he could find himself in if ex's creditors file a lien against the property.

Exactly. And if we can't resolve this with a trip to the county records office and the divorce decree, this is the argument I'm going to make.

[Urban Chicago]

Would your DH be willing to have a real estate attorney contact her instead of you? If all it takes is a letter and such, we're only talking a couple hundred dollars. Well worth it in my mind.

[Deleted]

Good for you GG!

The problem with creditors is that even though the divorce decree may state he gets the property and their claim isn't valid it will be a pain to clear it up. And I'm guessing it will be a separate trip to the probate court even if the rest of his estate stuff is in order. The cost for the atty and court because my mother failed to deed her rental property into her living trust was $2500. I think her atty friend would have charged her $50 to prepare and record the document. It was also a six month delay before I could put the property on the market. During that time the property lost 15% of its value, $30,000 in 2008.

[Gardening Grandma]

Urban Chicago,
I asked him that, and he said he'd be OK with having an attorney contact her. He can get her contact info from her sister (and, no, he won't ask the sister to ask the ex....).
I've already called the county recorder and they will not accept the divorce papers - they must have the quitclaim deed. So, now I'm looking for an attorney.

Swamp and bonnap - thanks. You guys gave me the ammunition I needed to prod him....

[swamp]

Jan 30, 2011 16:01:32 GMT -5 DVM gone riding said:

Tell DH if something happens to him the EX gets the place!!! Maybe that will help him do something about it!! Also get a will in place ASAP so you would have something to stand on if he dies!

No, it's not true. See my answer above. But it will be a mess.