Medford, OR asked in Real Estate Law for Maine

Q: My husband has a mortgage on our house and his mother had to be a co borrower. She has since abandoned the house

She stopped paying her part of the mortgage and refuses to contact us or come get her belongings because “her names on the house it doesnt matter”. The property deed is ONLY in my husbands name so she has no ownership of the lands. Can we legally evict her and her belongings?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: As far as evicting her goes, bringing an eviction action (also known as a FED action) should only be necessary if she was either a tenant holding under a written lease or a tenant at will. It sounds like she voluntarily left the home and has no intention of returning.

As far as her belongings are concerned, I would follow the same procedure as outlined here: https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/14/title14sec6013.html (but I would not refer to her as a tenant or your husband as the landlord).

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