I have been separated 3 years and divorced in 2103. We filed the ED late 2011. I was military and transferred and he kept the house. The mortgage is in my name only and both our names are on the deed. Well he didn’t pay the mortgage for the year he lived in it and it went into foreclosure. He left the house and Im moved back into it, applied for the modification and his attorney sent a certified letter signed by him that he would agree to modification. Well I got approved for the modification to avoid foreclosure but he has to sign the loan modification (again, its MY loan in MY name- not his). We have still not gone to court for the ED- after 3 years of this. He is refusing to sign the modification papers and the mortgage company and FHA both say he has to or they will revoke the modification and foreclose on the house. How is this legal? Why do I have to have his signature when he has NEVER made a house payment (even when we were together)? I only have 10 days left to get his done or I lose my house. Is there any avenue where we can get into a quick court to get a judge to make him sign this? He actually thinks it funny that I will lose the house and have a foreclosure on my credit. And the mortgage and FHA won’t take a quick claim deed either.
and there is 0 equity in the house, I actually owe $14,000 more than the appraised value of the home. I have had it on the market for short sale for 2 years and he has refused to agree to any of that as well. Why does ED take so long?
You may be able to file a motion for interim distribution to get back to court in the next 10 days and get the judge to award you the house and order him to sign the necessary documents. It really depends on what county you are in and whether you can get into court that quickly.
Well my ED has taken longer than the marriage lasted (going on 3 years now) and I have 3 days left to get these papers signed and my lawyer has no answer and his lawyer didn’t even know that he’s not on my mortgage and even though he agreed last year to go along with a modification (in writing and notarized by his lawyer). I finally got modificaton approved to forego the foreclosure (which meant moving back to the house and giving up good job to do it to save my credit) Both attorneys knew this was coming and that once the modification was approved we had 14 days to get the papers signed and returned. they both talked to the mortgage company last year and got them to explain the process. Now, its been 6 weeks since they were supposed to get the approval done, signed and returned. the mortgage company has given me 2 extensions and this is my last. I can’t get my lawyer, his lawyer or him to do anything. I am going to lose my house and I don’t even know why I paid a lawyer to do anything when nothing has been done in 3 years. what is the average time to get a ED settled (we are not rich, all there is - is a house with negative equity and back mortgage from him not paying it when he lived there). Now this loan in MY name is going ot foreclose and I can’t do anything because my lawyer hardly returns my calls or emails, and his lawyer wont talk to me because she can’t and he claims he has never been told any of this and states his lawyer hasn’t talked to him in 3 months.
How long is typical ED case? Can I sue my attorney (and his) for malpractice? I am losing my home and modification in 3 days.
Equitable distribution cases can take a significant amount of time to get through. The issue of whether a malpractice claim is feasible is outside of the scope of this forum. If you care to pursue an action against your attorney, you should contact an attorney that practices malpractice litigation for a consultation.