Q: My parents filed for divorce without including a home they own the mortgage for that they sold to my Aunt.
My father has solely been receiving payment for the last 12 years (parents have been separated legally for 10 years).
Post official divorce my mother instructed my Aunt to start paying her instead.
My father is now threatening to foreclose on my Aunt.
Can he foreclose on his own when both he and my mother’s names are on the mortgage?
A:
Your facts are a bit confusing, but here is what I am getting: You do not specify who is currently paying your father on the mortgage, nor how much per month he is being paid. The divorce papers should have included instructions on who gets what property, and how payments would be made, and who pay whom. I don't know where your aunt comes into all of this, but if your father was entitled to be paid mortgage payments, he should be entitled for that to continue. I assume that they are now divorced rather than separated (since you refer to a "post official divorce"). Someone should review the divorce papers.
The more important question is: "is there a recorded deed showing how title to the property is held."? If the deed to the property shows that the property is held by both parents -- such as in joint tenancy, tenancy in common, or as
husband and wife -- then your father could not unilaterally foreclose on the home, because technically the home is owned by both parties. I am guessing that your father could sue your mother for failing to pay her share of the mortgage, if that is what she has been doing for ten years. This gets more complicated, because they may end up having to file a partition action to divide the property, which is very expensive and time-consuming.
Since I am missing many of the facts here, my opinion is only a guess. I suggest a family law attorney should be hired to sort this all out, as the answer to the problem may be hidden in the divorce papers.
Good Luck
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