If you are still on the mortgage loan with your ex-spouse

If you are still on the mortgage loan with your ex-spouse, there is nothing that you can do unless your divorce settlement agreement requires your ex-spouse to refinance.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Grace, while you were married you bought a house with your husband, you both were on the mortgage loan apparently, then you got divorced and you deeded the house to him. Grace: Correct. Attorney Tom Olsen: Your issue now is you're still on that mortgage loan. Grace: Correct. I have gotten a hold of the lender, and they have told me that the only way that I can get off the mortgage, or not be responsible financially for it, is to contact him directly and ask him to refinance. Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes. Grace: My question is, is there any way without me having to physically contact him, that I can somehow get off this mortgage? Attorney Tom Olsen: No. You are on that mortgage until the day it's been paid in full, however many years it happens to be down the road. That's the bad news Grace. However, Grace, the good news is this, is that if you go out and you apply for a new loan, whether it's a car or a house, they're going to certainly pick up that you're still on this old mortgage. However, if you show them the divorce decree and you show them the deed where you deeded this house to your ex-husband, often they will ignore that mortgage and not count it as part of your credit report. Grace: Okay. Attorney Tom Olsen: That's the good news Grace. Grace: That actually helps me out because my new husband and I just purchased a home, and financially it's definitely helped out. I guess I'm going to have to go the avenue and maybe send him a certified letter. Now let me ask you this, would refinancing-- If he refinanced it and my name was not included on that, would that help, with the separation? Attorney Tom Olsen: Grace, there is first of all, you cannot make him refinance the house, unless somewhere within your divorce decree it requires him to refinance the house. Writing him a letter by certified mail would be a waste of time, and probably would not help whatever kind of relationship that you have with him. Grace, in my opinion, it is what it is, it's not hurting you apparently right now. It's nothing you can do about it, Grace. Grace: Thank you so much for your help. I really do appreciate the advice. Attorney Tom Olsen: Your welcome, good luck to you. Bye, bye.