Taking care of mortgage, title ends responsibility

Q: I have been divorced for eight years. My ex-spouse still lives in the house we both own. I was OK with it, but now he can’t pay the mortgage, which is in both of our names.

In our divorce agreement, we agreed that he would stay in the house for a year then sell it and we would split the profit. I don’t want to take him to court. I’m willing to let him keep the house. I just want to pay off the mortgage (the balance is less than $5,000) and get my name off it, as it is the only thing keeping us in contact.

If I pay the loan off, will that release me from all responsibility?

A: If you pay off the mortgage, you will no longer have any responsibility relating to the home loan. But you’ll still need to give your ex-spouse title to the home. Once you no longer have a loan and you no longer have an ownership interest, you’d be free and clear.

You can order a payoff letter (also called a demand letter) from the lender by calling the number on your mortgage statement. Send in the exact amount owed by the date required in the letter.

You also can have a quitclaim deed prepared to convey your interest in the home to your ex-spouse. You can take it a step further by filing that deed with the propertyrecords office where the home is located. That puts the world on notice that you no longer have anything to do with the property.

Then, unless there are issues like liens or lawsuits, you should be done. Good luck.