File Bankruptcy to Get Off Mortgage With Ex?

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser,

My ex-husband and I divorced in 2005 and he kept the house. The problem is that we agreed to everything but didn't specify that he must get my name off the house in the divorce papers. So we both have remarried and he has been late on the house payments, which is affecting my credit and preventing me and my husband from getting a home loan. My ex-husband is missing payments. He does get caught up, but this has occurred on and off. It also means he cannot refinance because his credit is poor and now mine is, too. So my question is: Could I file bankruptcy and list only the house so that I am no longer responsible for it? Also, if I did file, would that affect me being able to get a loan for a house?

-- Kathy

Dear Kathy, Most things in life are not as simple as we want them to be. I respect that you just want to be done with the ex-husband and the past. Your approach may work, but not as easily as you would like it to.

If you are eligible for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it would eliminate your liability on the mortgage but it would not remove your name from the property title or the mortgage loan. You may have signed your name off of the title during the divorce, but your ex-husband would have to refinance the mortgage to take your name off the loan.

Here are the issues you have to address.

Are you eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy? You did remarry. While you can file bankruptcy as an individual, you must qualify as a couple. Your new husband may have separate assets and those generally do not need to be listed in your bankruptcy. However, his income and any post-marriage assets must be listed in your case. So, you need to find out whether you are eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Do you have joint accounts with your new husband? The bankruptcy will impact any joint credit card accounts that you have with your husband. He can keep paying and his credit should not be harmed, but the lender may place a notation on his credit report. That note will say, "Included in bankruptcy." I am not a credit reporting expert, but I have researched this issue and my research shows that this note should not impact his credit score. It may only require an explanation to future prospective lenders.

Know that all debt must be included. You cannot file bankruptcy only on some debt. You have to include all other accounts, such as credit cards or personal loans. Even accounts without balances will likely be closed. You can start over, but not with your current accounts.

What will happen to your mortgage with your ex-husband? The mortgage lender will receive notification that you have filed bankruptcy. The positive part is that future late payments will no longer report to the credit bureaus.

The negative part is that a future foreclosure will show up on your credit report. Your ex-husband may lose the house in foreclosure one, two or many years later. The lender would not have been reporting the late payments on your credit report all that time, but will report the foreclosure. That will definitely impact your credit.

Will you be able to get future mortgage loans? The bankruptcy will impact your credit for the next few years. Even though the bankruptcy notation stays on your credit for 10 years, you can get new credit sooner. Obtaining credit after bankruptcy is not impossible and your new husband could help you establish new, post-bankruptcy credit. Even though I do not endorse co-signing, it is a way for your current husband to help rebuild your credit faster.

You cannot expect to get a mortgage loan immediately after filing. Lenders want to see that you have established post-bankruptcy credit and confirm the bankruptcy case was filed more than two years ago.

As I said, this is an option, but most things are not as easy as we would like them to be. You will have to do some research and may need to talk to a bankruptcy attorney before you take this approach.

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