Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
How Can We Gain Control Over Ownership of Our Home?
We have a situation where my husband is listed as owner on our Deed to our home, my father-in-law is listed as Co-Owner. My father-in-law has been asking us for over a year to have his name removed from our house. My husband and I have made the payments for the past 6 years. We just added a $30,000 addition to our home. Now that my father-in-law is up on charges for molesting our 6 year old daughter, he's now blackmailing us that if he's found guilty, he's not going to sign any papers for us to remove his name from the deed to our home. Is there anything we can do? We want to re-finance it, and remove his name, but we can't until he signs a paper to remove his name.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: How Can We Gain Control Over Ownership of Our Home?
This is a difficult situation. If your father-in-law refuses to voluntarily execute a deed transferring his interest in the property to you and/or your husband, your only recourse is to file a court action known as an action to quiet title. To be successful, you will have to prove that your father in law has no financial interest in the property, and that he was co-signer only as a guarantor of the mortgage. If he did make a financial contribution, you will have to try and buy out his interest.