Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

vested owner

How do I become a vested owner on a property? Because of a recent divorce and my ex-husband allowing our home to go into foreclosure, I am unable to get on the mortgage for this property. I pay half the mortgage payments and have put money into the house and i want to safeguard my investment. How do I legally get named on the property? Are there other options for me to safeguard my investment in this property? The divorce decree clearly states that my husband had responsibility for that house, but I am being penalized on my credit report, what steps do I take to remedy that situation? Thank you very much.


Asked on 5/13/04, 5:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Amir John Showrai The Pacific Law Firm, PLLC

Re: vested owner

I am not clear which property you are talking about, but I will assume you want to be named on the title to a new property that you own with someone other than your ex-husband. If so, you can always try to record a quit claim, or if you are remarried and your husband is the named owner, then an interspousal transfer might be an option.

Either way, there are a lot of details that I would need to get from you in order to give you a better idea of what your options are at this time.

As to your credit being ruined by your husband's failure to pay the other mortgage, I need more information to help you, such as whether you were still married when the home went into foreclosure, and if it happened after the dissolution of your marriage, why was your name still on the title?

As for options to protect your investment in the current property, there are definitely ways to protect yourself, but that depends on the capacity in which you bought the property, i.e., is it owned with a new spouse and purchased during marriage, etc.

I hope this helps you at least in a general way. If you'd like to discuss the situation, please feel free to call me for a free telephone consultation.

Amir John Showrai

(206) 223-9510

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Answered on 5/13/04, 5:43 pm


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