Getting name taken off mortgage

[Valrie]

I left my husband (now my ex) 3.5 years ago as he would not leave our joint property despite him being at fault. I moved into a flat with our son and he has not really contributed towards his upkeep, although he does have him over to stay and is a very good Dad. He was terrible with money when we were together and has only got worse I believe. He have recently found out he has terminal cancer and after I spoke to him he said I had better get my name off the mortgage as if not I would be left with all the debts. He is not credity worthy and could not take over the mortgage. I have suggested he declare himself bankrupt. I have not contributed to the mortgage on the property since I left as I am unable to with paying rent etc. on my flat.

Can I write a letter stating I no longer want to be on the mortgage? What happens if he declares himself bankrupt?

[lady_p_gold]

You say he is now your ex. How did you get a divorce, was there no consent order or division of assets ??? There are lots of things to consider here. Are you still joint owners of the property ? Has he got any life insurance in place ? If the inevitable were to happen could you afford the mortgage payments if you moved back into the property (and perhaps could take a lodger etc etc) My advice would be NOT to do anything until you have sought advice, if you do not have enough for an appointment with a solicitor then I would head straight for the CAB, but do not write a letter until you know your position.

[sense4all]

Is there any positive equity in the property to cover these debts?.

[xrayspecs]

The mortgage lender will not allow you to take your name off the mortgage agreement. The reason for this is quite simple. A lender has a better chance of recovery of monies owed from two people rather than one. They will seek to recover the property if your husband defaults on the mortgage and if the subsequent sale does not release sufficient funds to cover the outstanding mortgage the lender will then attempt to recover the outstanding debt from both the parties named on the agreement.

If your husband declares himself bankrupt the official receiver will then take posession of all your husbands assets including the house. It then depends on the level of debt, the value of any assets and the level of equity in your property as to what the OR does next. If he sells the house the money raised from the sale will go first to your husbands creditors the rest to the mortgage lender and anything left will come to both you and your husband. Again if the residual amount after the creditors have been paid is not sufficient to meet the outstanding mortgage, the lender will look to you both for the remainder. This will ultimately mean court, CCJ and an attachement of earnings.

[themas]

If the house is jointly owned and your ex goes bankrupt then the OR will want to realise any equity in the house. To do this it will be sold. First call on the proceeds is the mortgage lender. Any equity that is then left will be split 50:50 between you and the OR (who will have your ex's share). He will use his share to go to your ex's creditors. (The previous post has this the wrong way round - it is the mortgage lender who has first call on the proceeds, not the OR, because lenders invariably - in bankruptcy situations - elect to rely on their security (the house) rather than be included in the bankruptcy. So, provided the sale price would cover the mortgage & associated costs you do not need to worry about being chased for a shortfall.

[themas]

A further thought. If the house is jointly owned & your husband dies without going bankrupt the house (if it is owned as "joint tenants" and not "tenants in common") becomes yours under survivorship rules and is not part of his estate. His debts (if they are in his sole name) would be paid from any assets he had and if he did not have sufficient assets the rest would be written off. If there is equity in the house you could therefore be better off than if he goes bankrupt.

There is one qualification to this. It is possible for creditors to apply to make the estate of someone who has died bankrupt. If this was done your ex's share of the house would go to the OR (same procedure as my post above). However, I do not think this provision about bankrupting an estate is widely known, and have never heard of it happening.

I don't think you would get the lender's agreement to taking your name off the mortgage and don't think it is in your interest to try.

[Valrie]

According to my ex the house has negative equity and he has rasied loans against the house which have not been paid. We are joint owners of the property and even if I have the option I would not want to go back and live there.

Thanks to everyone for their answers - more advice appreciated.

[lady_p_gold]

Well you only have what he is telling you to go on. I think the whole thing needs looking at so you know your exact position and not just what he is telling you ... after all it is your house that he is borrowing against and he should not have been able to borrow against the house without your signature.

[themas]

lady_p_gold is right. Unless the lenders have been extremely incompetent your ex could not have got loans secured on the jointly owned house without your signature. So it could be he has forged your signature to get them. If he has, this could cause you untold problems as the creditors would then chase you.

Go to the land registry website and get a copy of the title deeds for the house. This will show you how many charges are registered. If the only one is the mortgage that your name is on then fine. If there are others that you know nothing about you must challenge your ex about them and find out exactly what he has done. If he has forged your signature the lenders he has defrauded will need to know about it. If he only has a short time to live he should swear an affidavit confirming what he has done as this will help you to get the lenders to accept you have no liability for the debts.

[xrayspecs]

You are right themas I had it the wrong way round - sorry for any confusion. The effect is pretty much the same though.

[themas]

Thinking about this again, there is a way in which loans taken out by your ex in his sole name could end up secured on the house. If he took out an unsecured loan and defaulted on the payments, the creditor could take him to Court and get a County Court Judgement for him to pay. If he then defaulted again by not paying the CCJ the creditor could return to Court and ask for a charging order, which secures the debt on the house.

If this is what has happened only your ex's share in the house could be used in relation to these debts.

The creditors would have no comeback against you.

[Anastashia]

I have been going through the same thing for 2 years. In my divorce it states that the house is his, and he has to refinance or get my name off the house. Our mortgage company has something called assuming the mortgage. If he can show that the insurance is only in his name and you are not on the deed, etc. then they will take your name off w/a small fee. However, I did it and they lost the paperwork. My ex would not re-send the papers and they won't take my name off. He wouldn't refinance and my name is still on the mortgage. We are both remarried already. He is now selling it, and i hope he does before it ruins my credit. He is already late with this months payment and if it isn't paid by the 30th it goes on my credit too. I will have to pay the mortgage or take the chance of killing my credit. I feel so scr*wed. He lost his job so i end up being responsible. Sucks to be nice.