Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
my partner and I split up over a yr. ago. We both jointly own the house and land and both names are on the mortgage and deed. She asked me to leave because she wanted to be there alone. At different times she has asked me to come over and do the yard work and feed the animals while she was away. For the past months she has been pushing me to sign a quit claim and sign everything over to her. I have not been willing to do that. Tonight I got a hateful email from her and she said that since I was not living there anymore, if I came over it would be trespassing and that she was not giving me permission to be out there anymore, that it was not my house. My name is on the mortgage and the deed. I put thousands of dollars into that house over the years. She is the one that wanted me to leave. Am I trespassing or is she crazy?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Sadly, I have more bad news than good, but there is an answer.
You're not trespassing if you're on the deed, but you are risking going to jail. If you have a heated confrontation, expect the police to come, and they may arrest you.
It was incredibly foolish to buy a house jointly when you were not married, and even more foolish to do it without a written agreement that covered things like this. You made a blunder in not doing either. A few dollars of legal fees would have saved you large legal fees now. One always hires a lawyer before buying a home, and you would have been warned of the dangers.
Your option now, unless you want to lose your investment, is to hire a lawyer and file to partition the property. That will force a sale. Neither of you will have the house, and both of you will split the proceeds, if any.
Partition cases are expensive, but unless you can negotiate a settlement (and deeding it over is frankly a bad idea as you remain liable on the mortgage), that is the way to go. Even if you reach an agreement where she refinances and buys you out you'll need a lawyer.
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