Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

If the divorce decree didn't get you released from the mortgage then the fact that she fell into arrears and simply can't pay even if you took her to court, means you remain liable on the mortgage but have rights of reimbursement. Credit reporting agencies don't get inside divorce decrees; they just show "what is" on a debt situation, and you appear to remain equally liable. And in that situation someone thinking about lending money to you will want to know if you have this kind of continuing liability. With the marketplace as it is, changing the divorce decree (for example) to force her to refinance now wouldn't work; about the only thing would be if both parties agreed to either sell the place, or allow you perhaps to lend money that you get back, or some other relief. No. This is a terrible economy and the "traditional" kinds of ways divorce decrees are drawn up are not helpful in these kinds of situations. I do recommend highly you see a real estate attorney about some options and then have either the divorce attorney who represented you then, or a new one, work with the real estate attorney on a potential solution. On the flip side, you can contact the credit reporting services and attempt to explain what's going on, but it will not prevent the "fact" of the default from being shown.