Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in West Virginia

Re: a trustee for a church sign a personal garanty for a loan with other

In West Virginia, real estate that belongs to a church is taken in the names of the duly elected trustees. The trustees sign the Deed of Trust as the legal title holders. The congregation is the equitable owner of the real estate. You are apparently one of the trustees. Sometimes a lender will ask for personal guarantees from trustees and others in addition to the lien on real estate. The relationship between any guarantor (whether a trustee or not) and the lender cannot be changed by the pastor of the church or by any other trustee. It can only be changed by the lender. It would be unusual for a lender to give up security. It would take a refinance to restructure a loan to reduce the number of guarantors. It is possible for the lender to agree to a "novation", that is release of one guarantor for another. I believe that all parties would have to agree and sign a document to reflect the agreement in order for it to be biniding on everyone and to be effective to release a person from obligation. Of course a trustee is a fiduciary for the congregation. A trustee would likely have duties of fiscal management beyond mere holding of legal title of the real estate. Any guarantee of a note is gratuitious and done only as an accomodation to get the loan. I believe you should gather up the church declaration and any minutes dealing with the position of trustee as well as the note and Deed of Trust and take them to a lawyer who handles real estate to see what your rights and remedies are. Nothing in this reply is intended to be taken as legal advice for a specific circumstance. It could be that you are not at great risk for personal financial loss, but it also appears that there are larger issues that need to be investigated and addressed.