Aubrey Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 (edited) Woman decides to leave man; offers to keep house because man can't afford pmt by himself. Calls man a few mos later to say she can't make pmts & will be out by the end of the next mo. House is in man's name, who now has a lease he'll have to break or pay both apt & house. Man then finds out that woman has not paid house pmt since she kicked him out. Has also overdrawn joint acct by $500. Bank will not let him close acct or take either of their names off. He owes same bank nearly 5k for the house at this point. A realtor came to see what would need to be done to sell it--more than man can do/afford at this point. Divorce is not finalized. Man had utilities turned off; woman is mad about that. :lol: Is there *anything* man can do to limit the damage at this point? If he breaks his lease & then loses the house anyway, his credit is ruined & he's homeless. I wonder if he should just stay in the apt & quit pouring $ in the hole. There's no landlord agreement, nothing in writing. All of this is in Tx, fwiw. So far, I have only suggested changing the locks on the door & talking to a mgr at the bank. He thinks the locks are pointless because the utilities are off, & he's worried about extra $. I think she's caused the financial damage on purpose, & while she's gotten most of her stuff out, she hasn't gotten everything. It's the only protection/leverage I see that he's got. :bigear: Edited June 7, 2010 by Aubrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Man needs to go back in time and NOT make the dumb mistakes he made by letting estranged wife have possession of the house without either taking his name off of it, or making HER sign a lease. It was VERY foolish of Man to agree to this arrangement. Man needs to see attorney NOW and try to undo and prevent further damage. Man needs his own bank account NOW before he gets turned into Chexsystems and can't get a bank account at all. He needs documentation to prove the payments haven't been made, but ultimately, if the house is in his name alone, he might be solely responsible, but I am betting a decent attorney would nail Estranged Wife for some, if not half, of the payments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 If he really can't afford an attorney, then maybe he can get some help through community legal aide. Many cities and counties have this service. I certainly hope he isn't in Michigan because our economy and state budget is so awful that I don't think there is much available anymore. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted June 7, 2010 Author Share Posted June 7, 2010 Man needs to go back in time and NOT make the dumb mistakes he made by letting estranged wife have possession of the house without either taking his name off of it, or making HER sign a lease. It was VERY foolish of Man to agree to this arrangement. Man needs to see attorney NOW and try to undo and prevent further damage. Man needs his own bank account NOW before he gets turned into Chexsystems and can't get a bank account at all. He needs documentation to prove the payments haven't been made, but ultimately, if the house is in his name alone, he might be solely responsible, but I am betting a decent attorney would nail Estranged Wife for some, if not half, of the payments. I have a bunch of advice if he could go back in time. He's going to balk at attorney's fees in the middle of his financial situation, but...I figured someone would say that. Btw, her name's not on the mtg at all. Her credit wasn't good enough due to a previous divorce. He counted it a kindness for her to keep the house because he couldn't afford it on his salary. He does have his own acct. This one was just for joint expenses. Or something like that. The bank had him sign something to turn off overdraft protection so the balance won't keep adding up, but said she could just have it turned back on. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I have a bunch of advice if he could go back in time. He's going to balk at attorney's fees in the middle of his financial situation, but...I figured someone would say that. He does have his own acct. This one was just for joint expenses. Or something like that. The bank had him sign something to turn off overdraft protection so the balance won't keep adding up, but said she could just have it turned back on. :001_huh: Well, it is expensive to retain an attorney. I think mine was $1500 and $150 an hour, but you don't always have to pay the hourly at once. I paid the retainer up front, and the rest was due later (but my attorney waived my fees after the retainer ran out. Long story and not really applicable to your friend's situation). Is Texas a community property state? If so, he may not be able to get her out of the house easily, but, otoh, she would be liable for half the expenses she's ignored, too. Bottom line: he needs an attorney. At this rate, I think NOT having one is going to cost him more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Ugh, my sister is going through something like this and can't get her name off soon to be ex-husband's account though he is ruining their credit. But, she did open a new account and her paycheck is no longer up for his grabbing. That said, he has got to get an attorney. Sis's attorney told her that as part of the divorce decree, the judge can order the bank to take her name off the mortgage and once her name is off, she can then send a copy of the divorce decree to the bank and the credit reporting agencies so that the missed payments and/or eventual foreclosure will not be on her credit rating. But, it takes a good attorney to negotiate this and a judge/court decree to get the deed done. What will happen is that her ex-dh will be likely ordered to "buy out" her interests in the house and then her name will be removed. Without a divorce decree, the bank will not remove her name from the joint checking account. So, I don't know what she will do about all of those over-drafts he is racking up...maybe the judge will take care of that too by having her name ordered off retroactive to when the file for divorce took place. What a mess! I hope he gets an attorney. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I would go to housing court and have her evicted. Then I would go down to the courthouse and find out what else I needed to do. There are many things you can do without a lawyer ( I learned this the hard way after $80,000 worth of legal bills :confused:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.S. Burrow Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Texas banking: At any time either joint account holder can close an account or revise an account to be in just one of the original account holders' name. I worked in a bank. That is one of the things we tell people when they open a joint account. He needs to get with the branch manager where the account was opened. I also recommend getting an attorney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.S. Burrow Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Well, it is expensive to retain an attorney. I think mine was $1500 and $150 an hour, but you don't always have to pay the hourly at once. I paid the retainer up front, and the rest was due later (but my attorney waived my fees after the retainer ran out. Long story and not really applicable to your friend's situation). Is Texas a community property state? If so, he may not be able to get her out of the house easily, but, otoh, she would be liable for half the expenses she's ignored, too. Bottom line: he needs an attorney. At this rate, I think NOT having one is going to cost him more. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Texas banking: At any time either joint account holder can close an account or revise an account to be in just one of the original account holders' name. I worked in a bank. That is one of the things we tell people when they open a joint account. He needs to get with the branch manager where the account was opened. I also recommend getting an attorney. Ooh, this is good to know. Not what they told him at the bank today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Bottom line: he needs an attorney. At this rate, I think NOT having one is going to cost him more. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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