Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

Re: Name removal from mortgage and deed

In the usual case you can NOT get your name removed from the mortgage, or more importantly, the promissory note which is the obligation to pay. You can be removed from the title to the property by a signing a simple quit claim deed and transfer return.

In order for you to be removed from the legal obligation to pay, the mortgage company must agree to refinance the mortgage note - usually with the attendant costs of refinancing. Sometimes this is a blessing because the mortgage rates have dropped and/or the term of payment can be extended thereby lowering the amount of the monthly payments.

The primary problem with NOT being able to be removed from the note is that if the remaining owner is chronically late with payments or worse, defaults altogether, it will affect YOUR credit rating. And because you already have a mortgage obligation that you are responsible for, it will be harder for you to get a loan to buy a house for yourself.

If there is only a first mortgage there is very little likelihood that you would ever actually have to pay any deficiency if there were a foreclosure because the mortgage holder can get the property back more quickly by waiving the deficiency - which is the norm.