[bzamost]

A few weeks ago I typed my husband's name on our Circuit Court's website and found out that a judgment of default has been placed against my him and his ex wife regarding foreclosure on her townhouse. The loan for this property is not in his name. The papers for my husband and his ex were served at the same time in 2010 to the townhouse that is being foreclosed upon, however my husband has lived in my house since 2007 (which we can easily prove). I have gone to the courthouse and retrieved the service papers and a copy of the judgment. We can not afford the thousands of dollars being requested of us by local attorneys, and we don't know what to do to protect ourselves and get this judgment removed before it appears on my husband's credit. He is listed as a defendant, and the documents state that he and his ex are responsible for the mortgage whereas other defendants are noted as being on there to remove their rights as lien holders and he was not named in that section. The exhibits show the note which was only signed by his ex (they were married at the time), and the condominium rider that they both signed. The court documents list the owner of the property as only his ex wife. What do we do?

[JudyKayTee]

I would be racing to discuss this with an Attorney.

Just so I have this straight this is a Judgment based on a debt which was NEVER his? It's his ex-wife's debt, and he had nothing to do with it - other than living with her in the condo which she purchased and financed in her name alone?

Is his name on the Deed or some other paperwork? Condos are a little trickier than "standard" real estate.

Is this about the condo financing or condo fees or something else?

I can't IMAGINE stumbling across this info! I would still be clutching my chest and screaming.

[bzamost]

This is a townhouse that they had purchased together initially. In 2003 my husbands business failed and he filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Before he did this, they refinanced the tounhouse so that his ex wife was the only person on the loan. At that closing only the ex signed the loan, but they both had to sign the condominium rider.

Both have since remarried, and she later moved into her current husband's house. She was not able to sell it for the amount owed and after being forced to get rid of a renter due to the association rules she apparently stopped paying the mortgage.

The documents show that the ex wife is the only person on the loan. The original loan that they both were on reports to my husbands cretit as closed/paid as of 2003. The current note is not in his name and is not on his credit. The ex wife's husband is the person who signed for the service, and we were never notified by them or by the courts.

We've tried to contact lawyers, but they want thousands of dollars for a retainer that we can't even come close to affording.

[ScottGem]

Transferring the property to the wife to avoid losing it in bankruptcy, which is what appears may have happened, is probably why they have included him in the suit.

You will need to prove that was not the case and he has no interest in the property.

[JudyKayTee]

Yes, the question as originally posted omitted some very important info. An Attorney will have to sort this out, particularly if there is an allegation of fraud.

[AK lawyer]

Is there a deficiency judgment against him? If not, there is no need to worry, they simply wanted clear title, so they named everybody and his uncle. I see foreclosure court documents all the time -that's what I do. Often times the defendants will be listed as "John Doe, Jane C. Doe, a/k/a Jane Doe, XYX Homeowners' Association, Unknown occupant #1, Unknown Occupant #2, et al." They just want to cover all the bases so as to get clear title.

If, on the other hand, they do have a deficiency judgment against him, it may be founded on the condominium rider, whatever that says. Otherwise, he could possibly move to set the judgment (as to him) aside, on the basis that he was not properly served.

[bzamost]

It appears that the default judgment is against him as well as additional defendants. I originally had hoped that he was listed for the purpose of extinguishing any rights he may have to the property or to invalidate any lien he may have (which he has none). However, in reading the documents there is a section that lists the parties who are defendants who are named to remove their monetary rights to the house and he is not named in that section. He is listed as a mortgagor with the now ex wife, but she is named in multiple sections as the only person responsible for the loan. This is why there is confusion. If he were solely listed in order to obtain a clear title, shouldn't he have been included in the listing of those parties rather than as a mortgagor? The judgment for foreclosure does state that a judgment has been granted and he is named. The attorney for the plaintiff will not talk to us, but did state that he is not on the note.

[JudyKayTee]

I would be standing at my Attorney's office, papers in hand, in the very near future.