You’re getting divorced. Your future ex is getting the house. But what if your ex defaults on the mortgage payments? Are you totally at your ex’s mercy when it comes to making late payments and possibly ruining your credit rating?
Bear in mind that a mortgage is a debt, and a debt is a contract. What matters most here is – who signed on the dotted line? In other words, who is contractually obligated to pay the mortgage?
That’s all the bank cares about because the divorce decree does not change that.
Yes, you read that correctly. The divorce decree does not and cannot change your obligations under a mortgage note. The only way to get your name off of a mortgage note is to have someone else refinance the house. The question is – Can a divorce court FORCE your future ex to refinance the house?
The short answer is “no.” However, under certain circumstances, a good lawyer might be able to get a decree in place that involves getting your ex to refinance the house. If this can’t happen – and sometimes it just can’t – then there are other legal devices out there designed to protect someone in your situation.
Your best bet for protecting yourself in this situation is to – you guessed it – get advice from a lawyer.
