Legal Question in Family Law in California

Maybe.

It is not possible to remove a debtor from an existing mortgage without the consent of the mortgage holder, which of course they never give. So the only way to get off a mortgage is to pay it off in cash, which for most people means selling the house, or get a new loan in just the name of the ex who gets the house and is supposed to have the debt.

So the questions the situation presents are: 1. Is it financially possible for the ex who got the house to get a new loan and pay off the old one? and 2. If not, would it be appropriate and equitable to order the house sold to pay off the loan.

You have the right to ask the court to order either of those options, and to find your ex in contempt if he fails or refuses to do what the court ordered. The way to start that process and force your ex to show up in court to explain why he has not gotten a new loan, is to file what is called and Order to Show Cause Re: Contempt. That is a paper you or your lawyer fills out and submits to the court, and then the court issues it. Once the court issues it, they will set a hearing date. You then serve your ex with the issued Order to Show Cause and he has to show up on that date and explain why he hasn't gotten a new loan or otherwise paid off the old one. The "maybe" I began with is because it is fairly likely but by no means certain the court will order him to get a new loan, or to sell the house. For example, if there is little or no equity in the house, he may be unable to get a new loan and selling it might be futile. In which case the court might put the matter over for six months or even a year to see what happens, or deny the order with permission for you to renew the request at a later date when financial situations have changed. It all depends on the facts and details of the specific situation, particularly the financial details.