Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
If my husand is awarded the house in the divorce and it is stated in the papers that he is awarded the house as his sole and separate property, and that I'm divested of all the right, title, interest and claim in and to that property, will I still be responsible for that house in the future if he doesn't make payments even though it's in the divorce decree?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes.
Think of it as two separate boxes:
1. The box that's labeled "Who owns the equity in the house." The only entities whose rights are affected are YOURS and YOUR HUSBAND'S, and the court has complete jurisdiction over this.
2. The box that's labeled "Who is on the hook for payment of the mortgage." There are THREE entities whose rights are affected: (1) yours, (2) your husband's, and (3) the lender's. The lender isn't a party to the divorce, and was never served with citation; his rights aren't affected by what the divorce decree says.
Your credit report shows that you're buying a house. Still.
The only way to cure this is for Dad to refinance - in his name only. Which requires the cooperation of a lender.