Legal Question in Family Law in Rhode Island
After divorce My Wife can't get off Her Ex's mortgage
In my wifes divorce decree, it states that She has no rights or responsability towards a home she and Her ex-husband purchased in Rhode Island. Her name is still on this mortgage after 7 years and the bank will not take it off, even after we sent them a copy of the decree. The ex-husband will not help us. They were divorced in the state of Rhode Island and We now live in Massachusett. How can I get My Wifes name off this mortgage? I cannot secure a mortgage because of this.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: After divorce My Wife can't get off Her Ex's mortgage
The Bank is under no legal obligation to remove your Wife from the mortgage. The Bank was not a party to the divorce proceedings therefore the divorce court did not have jurisdiction to order her name taken off. Some Banks will remove a name if the person can demonstrate they have no obligation AND the other obligor demonstrates a complete ability to qualify for the loan and assents to removal. This issue is usually addressed in the divorce agreement or judgement whereby a party has a limited time to refinance or get the bank to remove a non-obligated spouse. in the event such is not accomplished in the timeframe the house is sold Since i do not believe your judgement addressed the isssue i would suggest you file a modification If there is language in the decree to support an affirmative obligation on the ex-husband a contempt proceeding may be warranted. in any event you may need legal intervention to clear this issue.