My soon to be ex wants off of my home loan and has agreed to sign a Quit Claim Deed. I contacted the Register of Deeds and they said I could either get a lawyer to draft it, or search Google for one.
I found one on Google for my state and filled all the info out and everyone who’s looked at it seems to think it’s fine, however, I’m having lunch with a friend of mine who owns a realty company today and he is suggesting the lawyer route.
I’m trying to save as much money as possible here and I’ve read these are not a really big deal, however I’ve never done one before.
What do you guys think?
(You are not my lawyer, etc…)
Edit: If anyone is wondering, I went to Rocketlawyer.com and got the free trial for a week to create the document.
IANAL, but my initial thought is that a QCD will not remove your Ex from liability on the loan. That’s up to the lender. I think discussing this with a lawyer before proceeding might be in order.
My finance company tells me that I can refinance in my own name if she will sign the QCD. She is willing to do it to get off of the loan and I will refinance once the QCD is entered.
I’ve done quitclaims without legal assistance and found it easy. So prepare one yourself. I suspect your lending institution may have more things to do to get someone off a loan obligation.
Got a lawyer buddy or FOAF that would be willing to look it over for a few bucks or a case of barleypop? It would be worth the cost to make sure there were no flaws in the document.
It sounds like she is the one who really needs the lawyer. As Morgenstern said, a quit claim does not relieve her of responsibility of the loan, it only removes any claim that she has on ownership of the property. If you default on the loan, the bank will still go after her, quit claim deed or no. What you really heed to do is refianace and but the debt wholly in your Nam while getting her to sign a quit claim. If i were her, I would not sign until your current loan has been fully paid.
They’ve stated if I get the QCD, they’ll handle it from there. But thanks for the info!
One other question, though. The GRANTEE section asks only if the person is single or married. We are legally separated, but technically still married. But on the Rocketlawyer site, if I selected married, it asked for a spouse name, so I went back and selected single. So the wording is something like:
Soon-To-Be-Ex and Orionizer, a married couple, for and in consideration of: One Dollar ($1.00) and/or other good and valuable consideration conveys, releases and quit claims to the GRANTEE(S):
The financing company says they cannot refinance in my name only unless she files the QCD.
I’ve been paying the loan on my own since March, 2010, so it’s not like I’m gonna stiff her anywhere. I really am going to refinance and, in fact, can’t wait to do so as it will lower my payment quite a bit as I’m getting a better rate.
That’s sort of what I’m trying to do with my friend the real-estate guy. He’s seen tons of these. I have some lawyer friends, but they don’t really specialize in this stuff (if this is considered family law, that is).
I’d get the lawyer involved. Preparing deeds isn’t family law, it’s more real estate. Your friend in the real estate business should know an attorney who does these.
Thanks, I’ll ask him if he has an issue with the document. Just hate to spend the $ if all I get back is something identical to what I already have. :mad:
Honestly. I think you’re putting too much faith in the words of an employee of a bank (or whatever lender). Good intentions aside, there’s always someone closer to the top that exists only to frustrate the consumer in matters such as this.
Start the refinance proceedings in your name only and let them tell you what you need.
The QCD only takes the person off the deed, which is a land record issue. The financing issue is different. The bank may request a QCD but will probably want other docs proving the separation and impending divorce in addition to the QCD. Docracy.com is an online document wiki/repository.
I had the WORST time getting my ex off of the house. Our separation agreement, which in the end usually ends up as the divorce agreement, stated that she would get out of the house, I would take over payments and she would have no claim on the house. I paid for the QCD two or three times at least because the refinance company would not take two lawyers letters, the agreement, and her own signatures.
I was able to get her off the mortgage, but she owned the house for two more years. I don’t know how that actually happened, but the company just kept telling me they wouldn’t take her off the deed. I refinanced twice in that time to get her off the damn deed so she couldn’t take a loan or something like that out on the house.
Quite frankly, and I know how expensive they are, I’d involve a lawyer just to make sure it goes smoothly. They kept telling me it was, but then all of a sudden it just didn’t.
You’re not going to a lawyer to get a document; you’re going to a lawyer to get the legal advice.
You obviously feel the need for advice - that’s why you’ve started this thread. So go to someone who actually knows the law in your state, rather than rely on nameless folks on the internet, however well-intentioned.
As for the cost, look on it this way: how much is your house worth? Then, how much will the lawyer cost? I’m betting that the lawyer cost will be less than 1% of the cost of your house. Pay the money to your lawyer, to make sure you get a clear title to the house.
Totally agree with the advice to go see a suitably qualified lawyer.
Where I live (NZ) this sort of thing would be classed as a Relationship Property Agreement and would be invalid she hasn’t been independently advised by her own lawyer, who then certifies that she understands the implications of giving up any claim to the property she might have. I’ve no idea wheter a similar issue might come up where you are - which again is why you need to seek the advice of a lawyer who knows the rules in your jurisdiction.
As a general rule it’s far better (and cheaper) to do things properly first time than to guess, and then perhaps have to sort out all the mistakes further down the line.