Question: I’m divorced and my ex-husband’s name has been taken off everything, but the title company refuses to take his name off the house. What can I do?
Answer: To remove your ex-husband’s name from the title to real estate, he must sign a quitclaim deed to you. If he refuses to do so, his name remains on the title. The title company can’t do anything without his properly notarized quitclaim deed. Your divorce attorney should have insisted on receiving this important document as part of the divorce proceedings.
It’s too late to complain
Q: I am the fifth owner of an 80-year-old house. I have owned it for 11 years. While trying to determine why a patch of my lawn was dying, I discovered an underground heating-oil tank.
This was not disclosed to me when I bought the house.
As best as I can determine, the tank has not been used for 35 years. It is empty. I estimate it to be 700 gallons. Should this have been disclosed to me?
A: If your seller knew of the underground oil storage tank, he or she should have disclosed it to you. However, because you have owned the house 11 years, the statute of limitations expired long ago.
But I doubt that is the cause of the brown patch in your lawn.
If there was any oil in the leaking tank, it would seep downward, not upward. Perhaps the soil above the tank was contaminated when the tank was being filled.
Maybe a simple replacement of the soil above the tank will solve your lawn problem.
For details on the legal aspects, please consult a local real estate attorney.
Inheritance with strings
Q: Is it true when someone inherits real estate — and it was the deceased’s primary residence — the mortgage will be wiped out at the time of death and the property title passes free and clear of all liens?
I heard if the property was not the deceased’s principal residence, then the heir has to pay the debts.
A: Dream on, my friend! When you inherit real estate, you receive title “subject to” all existing recorded liens and encumbrances against the property.
That means if you inherit a house that has a first mortgage, a home equity loan, a mechanics’ lien and unpaid property taxes, you must pay all those obligations according to their terms or lose the property by foreclosure or forfeiture.
Real estate inheritances can be wonderful if there is plenty of equity (the difference between the total amount owed and the fair market value of the property).
However, if there is little or no equity in the inherited property, you might want to decline that inheritance.
For more details, please consult a local real estate attorney.
