Q: Will my soon to be ex-husband be responsible for my house loan if not on the note or deed but mortgage?
We are in process of divorce, I close on a house before it is finalized. He is required to sign mortgage but not note or deed. Will he have any rights to my home?
A:
It depends on the language of the contractual documents but it is not uncommon for a mortgage company to require a spouse to sign off on giving up his rights in favor of the mortgagor even when title and the loan are solely in the other spouse's name. In that particular situation, the spouse does not acquire any title or rights to the home or any liability under the loan; he is simply giving up his legal rights as a spouse to the home in the event you die.
Often a spouse has what is commonly called "widow's rights" (although it applies equally to male and female surviving spouses) to a home that is 100% titled in the deceased spouse's name that allows the survivor to continue living in a home after the death. If that spouse has not signed off, the mortgage company cannot foreclose on the home even if the remaining balance of the mortgage is not paid because the surviving spouse has a superior right to possession of the home.
A: Mr. Frick is substantially correct, although in Florida what he calls "widow's rights" is referred to as "homestead". The mortgagee can foreclose (as is normally provided in the mortgage), but the person who asked this question would have to be named as a defendant in the foreclosure action.
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