After the Divorce - Lose the Mortgage

Even in the difficult times of a divorce proceeding, as someone with a valid claim to all joint property you have every right to think about the mortgage.

If you don't honestly think that you will be able to pay the mortgage on the home, then you should not go for the house. It's that simple.

If you want out of the mortgage however, you may have some trouble. When it comes to the house every state has a different law that pertains to community property. In fact, some states are even known as non-community property states. In these areas they believe that someone always owns everything no matter what changes occur in their marital status. It's just a matter of determining who owns what.

NOTE: In the future, you might want to think about a premarital agreement, also known as a prenuptial agreement, of some kind.

As far as the lenders are concerned, they certainly aren't going to be happy having to redo the mortgage on your home. However, even if you are smack in the middle of the divorce, the mortgage payment still needs to be paid. In point of fact, it is up to the creditor to allow you to get off the mortgage or keep you on. If your soon to be ex spouse cannot cover the loan by themselves, then you are more than likely going to have to make sure that the mortgage is paid regardless if you live there or not.

This can really mess up someone's credit!

If you want to get out of the divorce without being responsible for the mortgage, you are going to have to think about a few things. You are going to either ask your ex spouse to buy you out, or you will have to ask them to sell. Depending on the state and your circumstances, you may have to sell the house regardless. If the other person cannot find a co-signer then they may be forced to give up the home. This is one of the easiest ways to get out of a mortgage, however, divorce law varies from state to state and you may have difficulty splitting the assets 50-50.

Remember, if you place your house up for sale, you still have to pay the mortgage until the day it is signed over to a new owner. This is because you are still the legal owner of the home and the bill has to be paid by someone.

If you are worried about your credit rating you will have to do some work or investigation as part of the divorce process. You will need to know what credit cards that you two have and the balances on each. Not only do you have to worry about the liabilities that you two have racked up together during the marriage, you have to think about all the money that you have saved on account. You may end up having to repaying your spouse from the account and pay for your credit debt.

When you file for divorce you will want to close all joint accounts. Make sure that everyone knows that it was by request, not because of other circumstances. You will want them to note that so that it shows up on your credit report and has nothing to do with your credit when you go and apply for credit.

Some people will run up their bills and then make some payments late to screw the other person's credit in the divorce, but that is ridiculous. If you try to screw up their credit, your credit is going down too. So why bother playing such games when it's just going to cost you more in the end.

Also, make sure that you have a copy of your credit report so that you can keep notes of the changes in your rating. This way you can't get in trouble if your mate tries to play the credit game and starts buying things with your name and then not paying for it.

Divorce law is tricky, and your credit is important, so keep an eye on the mortgage during a divorce.

REFERENCES:
Do It Yourself Divorce Forms and Software
Prenuptial Agreements, Premarital Agreements
Debt Elimination System