Woman Stuck on Mortgage Despite Divorce

  Question:  Under the terms of my divorce decree last year my ex-husband was awarded title to our Gilbert home.  He was required to pay the mortgage payments on our home.  I even signed a quit claim deed for our home to my ex-husband.  The problem is that when I recently applied for a loan to buy a car, I was turned down by the bank because the mortgage on our home is still shown as my obligation on my credit history.  My ex-husband does not want to sell the home at this time, and because of his poor credit he cannot qualify to refinance the mortgage loan on our home.  Is there any way that I can have my name removed from the mortgage so that I can buy a car?

  Answer:  As a practical matter, no.  Most mortgage lenders want every individual who originally signed for the mortgage to remain on the mortgage until the mortgage is fully paid.  Although you and your ex-husband have personally agreed in your divorce decree that your ex-husband is responsible for the mortgage because your ex-husband owns the home, the mortgage lender was not a party to this agreement.  Therefore, a mortgage lender will still want you to be obligated to pay the mortgage in the event that your ex-husband does not make the mortgage payments.