Q: My ex husband has filed chapter 7 bankruptcy. A quit claim deed was done at the time of our divorce.

A: That is a very complicated question. I'll try to answer it, but you should sit down with a bankruptcy attorney for a more detailed analysis.

Most likely your property is safe. If both you and your ex are signers of the mortgage note, your ex's obligation to pay the note may be discharged when the court approves the final Order of Discharge. Your obligation to pay the note will continue unaffected by his bankruptcy. So long as you make all payments on the mortgage in the correct amount and on time, the mortgagee (bank) will not be able to foreclose. Be aware that some lenders stop sending monthly account statements after a bankruptcy.

The bigger danger is the Chapter 7 Trustee. The Trustee's sole purpose is to locate any assets of the debtor that can be sold, with the proceeds of the sale used to pay creditors. Some Trustees are very aggressive, because they get a percentage of any property they sell and disburse to creditors.

You indicated that your ex signed a quit claim deed. I am assuming that he quit claimed the property to you, as part of the divorce property settlement. Since your ex transferred the property to you, he doesn't own the property, so might assume that the Trustee cannot sell it. But, under the bankruptcy law, the Trustee may be able to "undo" or "avoid" certain property transfers that your ex made if certain conditions are met.

If the quit claim deed was not recorded at the Register of Deeds office where the property is located, the Trustee may avoid the transfer;

If the transfer was not made as part of the divorce judgment and if you did not pay him, or give him property or other value that is worth as much as the value of his part of the property, the Trustee may be able to "undo" the transfer. If he gave you a quit claim deed as part of the divorce, you are probably safe.

I don't wish to alarm you. 99 times out of a 100 cases you'll be safe. Consult an attorney.