Legal Question in Family Law in Nevada
Six months after my divorce my name was to be taken off of the loan papers for the house as to the divorce decree. This never happened as this is 3 years later. My former spouse might walk away from the house and let it go into forclosure. I think the bank will try to recoup its losses from me. If the bank tries to collect from me, can I take legal action against my former spouse and collect any damages? In other words he defied the divorce agreement. Can I take him to court for that?
Thank You,
Olena
2 Answers from Attorneys
Short answer: yes. To the degree you suffer any harm from your former spouse's failure to do what the Decree required, you can haul him back into court to indemnify you for your loss under the Martin and Siragusa cases. See the articles regarding division of debt posted at http://www.willicklawgroup.com/published_works.
Yes, Mr. Willick is correct, as usual. Be very careful in the event your former spouse seeks to discharge his direct liability to the mortgage lender and his indemnity-based liability to you, though bankruptcy. If you fail to timely contest the discharge in the Bankruptcy Court, you may be stuck with the loss despite the terms of your divorce decree. Your attorney can explain further.