Q: Can my husband be removed from a mortgage and us be put out with a newborn and 2 toddlers?
My husband and grandmother are both on a mortgage. My husband as the main borrower. There was a disagreement and my husband stated he wanted her out of the house. The verbal agreement that was met is we would just buy her out. This morning she was caught on the phone trying to have his name removed from the house and have us put out. I have a 2 week old a 1 year old and 2 year old.
A:
Who is on the deed is the question. No one can simply put anyone out. There has to be a court action to remove someone from their residence, even if they are not on the deed. You cannot have her removed and she cannot have you removed. Even if she were to file a court action it would likely not be successful since, assuming your husband is on the deed, he would just need to give you permission again to be there.
Likewise, no one can remove another person from the deed without their signature. That's not to say someone will not forge a signature, which is a whole different matter, but to remove anyone from a deed there has to be a new deed with that person signing the deed giving up their ownership interest.
The mortgage company is the only one who can remove someone from the mortgage, which is the loan and does not grant ownership. The mortgage company is not going to let anyone off the hook for paying the mortgage and the mortgage would need to be paid in full and a new mortgage obtained for either party to be removed.
It is in everyone's best interest to try to resolve your issues and get along. You have committed to each other for the duration of the mortgage until you can obtain a new mortgage. The grandmother may be entitled to half the equity in the home, depending on the deed. If you don't think this is possible then it's time to hire a lawyer to determine your rights, what might happen and where to go from here. Either party to a deed can file an action for partition to have the home sold.
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