Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Escrow failed to have interspousal signed or title amended

Why would you want your husband included in a foreclosure? I must be missing something here!! If there are additional facts, please feel free to call to discuss. Otherwise, recognize a blessing that the foreclosure is not on his credit too.

Re: Escrow failed to have interspousal signed or title amended

I think I see the point you are trying to make; that your husband should have been shown as a half owner, that he had the right to be shown as a half owner, and therefore a foreclosure proceeding that doesn't name him is invalid, at least as to his half interest.

Unfortunately, your theory is unsound. A foreclosing lender's trustee can conduct a valid foreclosure sale based on the names shown in the deed of trust and the public record.

If the public record inaccurately showed ownership, it would have been incumbent on you - and it would have been easy - to correct it before the foreclosure.

Further, I doubt you will have any luck laying blame on the escrow company for its alleged mistake. Whatever the supposedly "knew" about your marital status, you still have choices to make about how you will hold title, and holding title as your separate property (not showing your husband's name) is one of the choices and one frequently used when, for example, the spouse's credit is bad and the lender won't accept it. So, despite being married you could have chosen to be shown as sole owner. How title will be held is a question escrow companies always ask and it is one of the blanks you fill in on the standard preprinted escrow instructions.

Finally, if the escrow company did make a mistake, and it was one for which they could be held liable (which is doubtful), you would have to show that, if the mistake hadn't been made, you would have avoided the foreclosure. That seems unlikely; if you didn't have the money to pay the mortgage, there would have been a successful foreclosure against the two of you anyway.

So, I think you are going nowhere with these arguments. Sorry!