My name and my spouse's name are on both the mortgage and the deed. He wants to remove his name from the deed and leave just my name. If I agree to do this will I be solely responsible for paying back the mortgage being that his name is not on the deed?? The house is in NJ and we are currently separated. He is not up to date on the mortgage payments from what I understand and there is no way I would be able to afford the mortgage based on my salary. I am a little skeptical as to why he wants to remove his name from the deed especially because he is having some financial problems at this time.

Removing his name from the deed will not affect his responsibility to pay back the mortgage loan, but only so long as his name is on the mortgage note.

The mortgage consists of two documents: the mortgage note and the mortgage. The mortgage note is the document that states the amount of the loan and the promise to repay it. The mortgage is the document that says the lender can foreclose on the property if the loan is not paid back.

If he signed the mortgage note then he is responsible for paying back the loan and removing his name from the deed will not make any difference. If he did not sign the mortgage note then he is not responsible for the loan and removing his name from the deed will also not make any difference.

Depending on how much you both owe the lender, they may not allow this.
The deed and the mortgage are separate, so the lender will still go after each person on the mortgage, basically whoever can pay. Equal opportunity debt collection.
You should not be doing anything this drastic without the advice of an attorney.
You should not be letting knowledge of the payments slide. You could find a foreclosure sign on your lawn. I assume you live there?
We can't speculate on his reasons, but he might be thinking he can duck out of the mortgage or he might be thinking he can avoid other debts this way - not true.
You are equally responsible if you are on the mortgage, so it's time to get all your finances in order, and to see a lawyer, who can get his financial status if he is hiding it from you.

What makes him think he CAN do this. Even of you agree, the lienholder has to also agree and they won't.

Scott, what makes you think he CAN'T do this? All he has to do is sign and record a quit claim deed to the OP. Whether it's a violation of the terms of the mortgage makes no difference. He's just going to be held responsible for the repayment of the loan whether he does it or not, assuming he signed the note.

Both owners have to sign the quit claim deed if they are joint owners.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Both owners have to sign the quit claim deed if they are joint owners.

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No, they don't. One of the owners can sign the deed transferring his share to the other owner, or to anyone at all.

I would also wonder, his reason for this, My guess is he is confused and thinks that takes him off the loan also. Or is there divorce planned in future ?
Or does he have other debts, not paid, and he is afraid of a judgement ?

The answers are correct, he can do it, although it may not be proper. But WHY is a reason I would like to know