Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Remove my name from the mortgage
Divorce settlement of '98 gave house to wife and indemnified me from the mortgage. I've since learned I'm still liable for mortgage but house is deeded to wife. Actual wording is ''Plantiff(wife) shall indemnify and hold defendent harmless from any liability related to ownership of said marital residence'' I felt she should assume mortgage as part of this order. Mortgage company will allow her to assume mortgage and thus remove my name. Fee is $458 dollars. I have asked her a number of times to issue the assumption application and she has not. Over the last year i have asked her 6 times to start the process. I have offered to pay the $400 mortgage fee and she agreed to pay the $58 application fee but that was several months ago and still no progress. She was obviously not sincere in this verbal agreement. Do i have legal recourse to make her assume the mortgage? Since she is uncooperative can I sue her to accomplish this and have her incur all legal costs in addition to the mortgage assumption costs?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Remove my name from the mortgage
If the divorce order does not specify that she must assume mortgage you may need the Court to modify the order. I would politely ask her first to send in the application even offering to pay the other $58( a lot cheaper than suing)
Re: Remove my name from the mortgage
Because your settlement agreement does not require your wife to make application to assume the mortgage on the property, you may not force her to do so under the terms of this agreement. A property settlement agreement is a contract in itself and limited to its own terms - it is generally not modifiable for "fairness" at a later date. As you are now in a position of wanting something more from your wife, you are, in reality, seeking a new agreement - a new separate "contract". Perhaps, viewed in this light, you may creatively think of an offer which might make it worth her while to undertake the assumption of the mortgage and free you from this burden for the future.
Marital property and separation agreements should always be drafted with specificity and not merely be "form settlements" in order to avoid these kinds of problems.
I wish you the best. Feel free to call our office if I can be of any assistance to you.
Ilene Young, Esquire/ Civil & Family Practice/215-444-0445
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