# WAW filed for bankrutcy prior to filing quick claim



## ffghtr67 (Jul 23, 2012)

Long backstory...WAW, yadda-yadda-yadda...

Found out today that WAW filed for bankruptcy on 04/22/2014. Our dissolution was final on 04/19/2013. I got the house but have not refinanced it because of late payments in 01/2014; my bank said the house had to be up to date for 12 months prior to refinancing it. Late pays were due to me also paying child support following the WAW's exit for 5 months, despite the fact that the kids were living with me full time. 

It took me 5 months to get the CS stopped. I also have never received a quit claim from the ex. The court ordered me to pay a loan I co-signed for WAW which I have been doing diligently and have the balance down to about $6K. I called both the mortgage holder and the bank which holds the loan and asked them how WAW's bankruptcy would effect me and neither could give me an answer. I also looked it up online but didn't really get any usable information.

Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation?

WAW is a piece of crap....just wanted to add that!


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## daddymikey1975 (Apr 18, 2009)

Any lines of credit or loans that are also in your name will be your responsibility. If the house was solely in her name and she filed BK then the bank will foreclose regardless of you continuing to make payments unless you are also on the note.


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## ffghtr67 (Jul 23, 2012)

I am primary on the house and I co-signed the loan for her. She got all the cc debt in the dissolution since I have never used any credit cards and they were all in her name. Not really worried about that.

My concern is with the refinancing of the house. Since I wasn't able to get the house refinanced in the time allotted by the court could I be found in contempt? Anyone ever dealt with a quit claim and a BK and how did it effect your ability to refinance the home? Thanks!


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## SoVeryLost (May 14, 2012)

If you made attempts to refinance the home but couldn't due to policies held by the bank, and you can/do have documentation of those attempts you will not be held in contempt of court.

I did not have to deal with a bankruptcy, but the court did order me to file a Quit Claim on our marital home, which I agreed in court that my ex could keep, along with all of the equity in the home. My lawyer told me it was my ex-husband's lawyer's responsibility to draw up a Quit Claim for me to sign, and not to act on it until he did so. My divorce was finalized on 04/22 and as of today's date I have not yet seen a Quit Claim. It's early though so I'm assuming it's coming. If it doesn't come my lawyer instructed me not to worry about it. 

Was she given a timeframe to file a Quit Claim? If not and if it's just up to her to do at her leisure it would be difficult to hold her in contempt of court for not getting the ball rolling fast enough.


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## Pluto2 (Aug 17, 2011)

the bankruptcy stops any potential foreclosure by the bank, assuming they are listed as a creditor, which sounds like they would be.
This is one of those complicated areas of law, since both the family law court and the bankruptcy court have an interest in the assets. Definitely worth checking with a bankruptcy attorney to make sure you are protected.


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

I would still contact a bankruptcy attorney in your area to make sure that her failure to sign a quit claim, then filing bankruptcy, will not affect your deed to the house in any way. I would also go ahead and present her with a quit claim to sign as soon as possible. It should take any decent real estate attorney about a minute and a half to generate one for you after the title search is done. 

She sounds like a financial mess, so you want her name off of anything of yours as quickly as humanly possible.

ETA: I see Pluto2 beat me to it. Bankruptcy attorney, stat!


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## ThreeStrikes (Aug 11, 2012)

ffghtr67 said:


> My concern is with the refinancing of the house. Since I wasn't able to get the house refinanced in the time allotted by the court could I be found in contempt? Anyone ever dealt with a quit claim and a BK and how did it effect your ability to refinance the home? Thanks!


I'll echo SoVeryLost's sentiments. As long as you are making an effort to refinance, you won't be held in contempt. 

You could, however, threaten your ex with contempt for refusing to sign a quit claim deed. It's a simple process, and should only cost around $100-$200. My advice is to have the quit claim deed prepared, then send it to her via certified mail, have her sign on the X, and return it to you. If she doesn't, you can take her to court for contempt.


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## EnjoliWoman (Jul 2, 2012)

Agree with others on the contempt issue. You attempted to comply.

Bankruptcy filings are public records. Might be worth your while to go get a copy from the county she lives in just so you can see what was covered. Also you'll see the name of the attorney that filed it, so if you see the house listed as a debt OR an asset, I would contact that would the the attorney with questions - simply saves on having to ask anyone else since that one would be familiar with the situation. 

You can also contact your divorce attorney with questions about the quit claim - he should draft it. Mine did for the car that was in both names and ex had it signed and notarized.

Side note - be sure to send a copy of the divorce decree to all of the credit reporting agencies. Although your credit report is your own, they are linked - best to sever that. If you haven't pulled your reports recently, do so, and challenge those entries - those credit cards that were in her name only might be showing on your report. If so they'll show that they were written off in bankruptcy. Clean that up ASAP.


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## Pbartender (Dec 6, 2012)

ffghtr67 said:


> Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation?


Yes. I am on the other side of this fence.

Our divorce was final last August. My Ex kept the house. She had 6 months to make a first attempt to refinance, and another 12 months after that to try again, if she failed the first time. If she can't refinance by then, the house gets sold.

I filed the Quit Claim Deed right away within weeks of the date of dissolution.

So, it's been about 9 months. In the meantime, she hasn't refinanced yet, and she hasn't been making the mortgage payments... I've had to take her to court over it once already. She'll go 3 or 4 months without paying, until I threaten to take her to court, and she'll pay just enough to get the mortgage company off her back. My name is still on the mortgage, and so all her late payments (and possibly an eventual foreclosure) are tagging my credit report as well.

Currently, she is 4 months and $8,000 past due on the mortgage. She trying to get an FHA Streamline refinance, but won't be able to, because of the recent late payments and outstanding balance. And even if she caught up and started making payments on time, she won't be able to qualify before the deadline hits.

She's screwed herself.

I've done a bunch of research on this stuff, here's what I found out that might help you...

The deed and the mortgage are mutually exclusive. You can have one without the other. That means I am half responsible for a house I currently don't own. That also means that if you refinance before she files the QCD, you will be solely responsible for a house she half owns.

Courts and debt collectors are mutually exclusive. My Settlement Agreement states that my Ex is responsible for paying the mortgage and refinancing it. But, if she doesn't, the mortgage company doesn't care about the MSA, all they care about is that my name is on the mortgage and the bills aren't getting paid.

In most states, no matter whose name is on the debt, any debt acquired by either party during a marriage is considered "marital debt" by the courts, and can be split in the Settlement Agreement. As mentioned above, debt collectors, however, don't care about that. If you co-signed on a debt, then you are the debt collectors can legally hold you responsible for the debt. If you didn't co-sign on a debt, they may try to collect from you anyway, because you were her husband, but you have no legal obligation to pay it, and they can't force you.

Bankruptcy only affects the person who files for it. If your ex files for Chapter 7 (and it goes through), that effectively means she is no longer responsible for most of her debts. The credit cards are in her name alone. The credit card companies may try to get you to pay, but you can tell them no. You are already making the payments for the co-signed mortgage and co-signed loan. So long as you keep making those payments, the debtors are cool with it, and her bankruptcy won't make a difference.

On the other hand, if you filed for bankruptcy, she would still be legally responsible for the co-signed mortgage and loan. A great many vengeful Exes file just such "strategic bankruptcies" in a sort of financial mutually assured destruction.



ffghtr67 said:


> My concern is with the refinancing of the house. Since I wasn't able to get the house refinanced in the time allotted by the court could I be found in contempt?


If your Ex takes you back to court and makes a stink about it... Yes, you could be held in contempt.

If you can show that you've been trying and that the failure was no fault of your own, a sympathetic judge might give you more time. But you can't count on that. An unsympathetic judge could hold you in contempt of court, send you to jail, and write a new court order allowing your Ex to sell the house, for example. The decision and resolution is really up to the whims of the judge. No joke.

In other words, given your circumstances, don't worry about her filing for bankruptcy, because it largely won't affect you. Do worry about getting that mortgage refinanced ASAP, because she could cause trouble over it. Do worry about getting her to file a QCD, because you don't want to be paying for a house that's half hers.


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## ffghtr67 (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. I spoke to a divorce attorney and a mortgage broker last week. Basically I am in a holding pattern on the refi until I have 12 months without a late pay, (November 2014 is a logical time for me to begin the refi process) From there is seems pretty straight forward, an FHA streamline refinance and "hopefully" sooth sailing. 

My attorney also sent a certified collection letter to the address on her BK notice that I intend to notify the court of the $1800 in back CS she owes which cannot be discharged through Chapter 7.

Basically, it also advises the WAW that I will be filing for contempt if she doesn't repay that $1800 or complete a QCD. I am also sending another letter with a QCD and request that she complete it so it can be filed. 

I can not believe the woman I was married to for 21 years and had 4kids with has turned into this person. Everyday is a little closer to 'meh' because of the stupid crap she does.


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## ffghtr67 (Jul 23, 2012)

Something else I was wondering...Isn't it odd that the WAW filed Chapter 7 BK, basically on the one year anniversary of our dissolution being final? 

Am I missing something? Is this just a coincidence? I have learned that with this woman, there really isn't such a thing as a coincidence.


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## Pbartender (Dec 6, 2012)

ffghtr67 said:


> My attorney also sent a certified collection letter to the address on her BK notice that I intend to notify the court of the $1800 in back CS she owes which cannot be discharged through Chapter 7.


Chapter 7 does not absolve her of any obligations she may have to you from a court order... including your Settlement Agreement.

Doesn't hurt to cover your ass, though.



ffghtr67 said:


> Basically, it also advises the WAW that I will be filing for contempt if she doesn't repay that $1800 or complete a QCD. I am also sending another letter with a QCD and request that she complete it so it can be filed.


Just be aware that this could trigger her to file a counter-petition to hold you in contempt for failing to refinance.



ffghtr67 said:


> Something else I was wondering...Isn't it odd that the WAW filed Chapter 7 BK, basically on the one year anniversary of our dissolution being final?
> 
> Am I missing something? Is this just a coincidence? I have learned that with this woman, there really isn't such a thing as a coincidence.


I wouldn't read too much into it. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to understand the motives of an irrational person.


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## EnjoliWoman (Jul 2, 2012)

Pssst - PB... about your credit report - dispute the late pays on the mortgage by sending a copy of the settlement and QCD and an explanation. And you can always put a note in the file that will be visible to anyone who checks it. I'd tell the credit bureaus that you are no longer responsible for paying it, that you immediately revoked any claim to it and your ex wife is soley responsible for payment. 

Can't hurt.

I've disputed tons of stuff and gotten a lot of it removed. I get a copy every year from all three, review and dispute. Finally I have nothing left to dispute. Except they have my birthday wrong.


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## EnjoliWoman (Jul 2, 2012)

ffghtr67 said:


> Basically, it also advises the WAW that I will be filing for contempt if she doesn't repay that $1800 or complete a QCD. I am also sending another letter with a QCD and request that she complete it so it can be filed.


I agree a judge can do anything but really, if she hasn't filed the QCD, you CAN'T refinance and any judge who would hold YOU in contempt vs. HER would have to be on crack. Most judges use some sense unless the judge is related to her somehow.


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## Pbartender (Dec 6, 2012)

EnjoliWoman said:


> Pssst - PB... about your credit report - dispute the late pays on the mortgage by sending a copy of the settlement and QCD and an explanation. And you can always put a note in the file that will be visible to anyone who checks it. I'd tell the credit bureaus that you are no longer responsible for paying it, that you immediately revoked any claim to it and your ex wife is soley responsible for payment.
> 
> Can't hurt.
> 
> I've disputed tons of stuff and gotten a lot of it removed. I get a copy every year from all three, review and dispute. Finally I have nothing left to dispute. Except they have my birthday wrong.


Oh, know... I'm just waiting until the entire matter is resolved before I do, so I don't have to go back and do it a second time.


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