The Glade 4.0

If you co-own a home with someone you are not married to, how do you dissolve that and walk away from the mortgage?

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http://www.quitclaim.com/

One way, time tested and legally sound, so I'm told. My brother offered to quit claim his house to me, once I found out how much he owed on it versus how much it was worth, I realized he was being his usual self and not developing a generous altruistic streak and trying to take care of business before he moves to Mexico or some other escape.

The problem you may have here is that the receiving party has to agree to the quit claim.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Hop, it's best to have something in writing before you enter into such a predicament. Preferably done by a lawyer. That's not to say they can't contest it after the fact but it makes it that much harder.

Sit down with the co-owner and work out what % contribution you both want to put in and agree on a % final of the house (other wise it's 50/50 in most cases). You might also want to put a clause where the one that wants to sell have to give first consideration of purchase to the other person before placing it on the market, and consent to sell must be done by both people at market value. This is to stop one person selling and then giving you a chunk of money you're not happy with.

I'd also suggest to not go 50/50 on furnature and rather claim single pieces as this would make possible split easier. A list of what was brought into the house by each individual would also help make things easier for the future.

edit. Also keep in mind that if this is a girl (or boy if thats more to your taste) whom you're linked to romantically. Over here if you live together for more than 2 years it is considered a de facto relationship and is treated like a marriage when settling things, you might find out what the time for such considerations are over there.

Um...I hope this isn't something you are seriously considering already with your new relationship.
1) Co-owning a home with someone you are not married to or otherwise legally related/bound to is probably a bad idea (it did work for my best friend and the guy she was dating, but there was a LOT of drama surrounding the finally getting the deed in her name after the break-up)
2) Ya gotta kinda see a red flag if you are already foreseeing the possible consequences of a dissolution before even getting involved...
3) You may smack me for unsolicited advice.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

LK and Lydiaa, I think this is an existing situation, the way I read it.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I thought he dissolved everything with the ex already?

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

My guess is the Hopwin's new GF has this issue, and not Hopwin...

Time to run through the paperwork, Hopwin:
Is there any sort of partnership agreement between the owners that might cover this situation? Is the ownership vested as joint tenants or tenants in common? If tenants in common, what's the ownership percentage (50/50, or...). Does the partnership agreement specify anything on one owner leaving?

What, if anything, does the state or local government have to say on disagreements between co-owners?

And also, what does the mortgage contract say...some lenders may still keep all the owners liable, even if one goes off the title.

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

^^^^^^^^^


Sadly Wisconsin does not seem to have any laws that cover this situation. You'd recommend starting with the paperwork then? Assuming it is joint tenants (which I believe is the default) what kind of attorney would you get to resolve the issue?

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Hmmmm....

Here is a Wisconsin lawyer that specializes in division of cohabitation assets:

http://www.reileylaw.com/Cohabitation.shtml


Wisconsin's law/legal docs on proporty and stuff:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0700.pdf
http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&d=stats&jd=ch.%20700

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Definitely look over any and all copies you have of the contracts involved to see if anything in there covers your situation.

Start with a real estate attorney in Wisconsin. I wouldn't put it off, either, given the state of the real estate market these days. If (worst-case scenario) the other co-owner defaults before this is resolved, your GF could be on the hook too.

EDIT: Didn't think a family law/divorce attorney would be an option, but LadyKate's find says otherwise...great google-fu, LK!

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

Thanks LK & Colphax.

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