Divorce assett questions and Credit scores

[DigitalCancer]

Ok?I?m 24yrs old, My credit score right now is 710 and I have $7k in CC debt and about $12k in Student loans.
I gotta divorce in February and we went though www.legalzoom.com to get the papers to avoid any lawyers and that mess because we were very agreeable on everything.
So?I got my bills/cc?s?she got hers. She kept the car and the house.

I just realized that the car/house both have my name on the loan, mind you I wasn?t needed due to me having a job with a temp agency so my income didn?t even count.
So the house is $70k (through Chase) and the car was $16k (through US Bank) and I did contact Chase and got assumption papers started to try and get my name removed from that loan.
I will contact US Bank sometime this week to try the same, but?you wouldn?t think it to be this hard in order to get your name removed from a loan whenever you get a divorce, you shouldn?t be obligated for it any longer ya know?

The only thing that worries me is that she was talking about bankruptcy and moving back home because she can?t sell the house (she let someone mess it up pretty good) b/c she would have to put too much money into it. We?ve had the card since 06? and the house since Oct. 07 and they say she can?t refinance either because its too soon.
Does anyone have any ideas?? Any and all input is greatly appreciated.


Another question I have is if I do go for paying off all my CC?s (which is actually my plan at the moment) then?should I get rid of them or just cut them up and let them linger?
Right now here?s what I have:

Dell -- 782.73 / 3000
BestBuy - 1032.18 /1500
Zales - 585.98 /1500
Amazon ? 311/1100
Capitalone - 355.38/500
Citi - 2207.38 /2300 ß I transferred balances to this one for 0% Interest
Sony - 393.04 /500
Chase - 321.06 /400
Propser - 811.36 (1000 loan)
JC - 229.40 /1800
SallieMae_1 - 3156.66
SallieMae_2 - 8093.71
Dentist (CareCredit) - 960.10


I just don't want to ruin my credit. =/

 

[kranky]

I am pretty surprised your score is as high as it is, with the high balances on so many credit cards. If you pay them off, you should see a nice jump in your score.

Dell -- 782.73 / 3000 (26%)
BestBuy - 1032.18 /1500 (68%)
Zales - 585.98 /1500 (39%)
Amazon ? 311/1100 (28%)
Capitalone - 355.38/500 (71%)
Citi - 2207.38 /2300 ß I transferred balances to this one for 0% Interest (96%)
Sony - 393.04 /500 (78%)
Chase - 321.06 /400 (80%)
JC - 229.40 /1800 (13%)

You should not carry balances on so many cards, and you should keep the amount in use much lower.

Once you pay them off, don't close them. Closing them will not help your score.

It's not surprising that you can't easily get your name off a loan just because of a divorce. The loan was made to two individuals who happened to be married - having two names on the loan means a better chance of the loan being repaid. The lender has no incentive to simply remove you from the loan because of the divorce because that increases the risk.

 

[SearchMaster]

Yep, and your divorce decree really should have that in there (that she must refinance the house and car in her name only).

 

[Vette73]

Yep she might have to refinance to get your name off the house. If that is not a option then tell her to give you full value of the hosue and you refinance and take her name off.

 

[DigitalCancer]

We can't re-finance the house or car though b/c of not having them long enough or not enough balance paid (something like that) she checked in on it.


And as far as me having 'decent' scores...I have always paid everything on time. I've been late maybe 2x the whole time that I've had everything.

 

[RKS]

Just file a quit-claim deed; no need to re-fi.

edit: and maybe just get an ammendment for the mortgage.

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: RKS
Just file a quit-claim deed; no need to re-fi.

edit: and maybe just get an ammendment for the mortgage.

The lender must be willing to accept the amended mortgage. They are certainly under no obligation to do so.

The only real option is to sell the house, or refinance.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: DigitalCancer
We can't re-finance the house or car though b/c of not having them long enough or not enough balance paid (something like that) she checked in on it.


And as far as me having 'decent' scores...I have always paid everything on time. I've been late maybe 2x the whole time that I've had everything.

I do not understand the reasons that you (she) can't refinance. Maybe there's a prepayment penalty involved, but I do not think they can actually prohibit someone from refinancing a loan. After all, a refi simply means paying the existing loan back early and borrowing again from someone else. Can they actually refuse to accept the money?

Perhaps the current lender was saying THEY won't refinance it. But maybe another lender will.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Yea..I?m not sure how she was doing it, as I?m very unfamiliar with refinancing anything. ^_^

So what she should do is use something like ?DiTech??? and they could refinance both loans for us?

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: DigitalCancer
Yea..I?m not sure how she was doing it, as I?m very unfamiliar with refinancing anything. ^_^

So what she should do is use something like ?DiTech??? and they could refinance both loans for us?

Any mortgage company should be able to refinance the home for you.
Most auto lenders offer refinance options as well.

You (and when I say "you" I mean your ex-wife) may have problems refinancing, though, if you've lived in your home for too short of a time, you owe too much on your home relative to its worth, you have insufficient income now, or your credit isn't that great.

How much is the home worth? How much do you currently owe on it? What is your ex-wife's credit like?

Like I said earlier, you may not like it, but your name might be stuck on the original loan until you can get the thing refinanced.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Originally posted by: QED

Originally posted by: DigitalCancer
Yea..I?m not sure how she was doing it, as I?m very unfamiliar with refinancing anything. ^_^

So what she should do is use something like ?DiTech??? and they could refinance both loans for us?

Any mortgage company should be able to refinance the home for you.
Most auto lenders offer refinance options as well.

You (and when I say "you" I mean your ex-wife) may have problems refinancing, though, if you've lived in your home for too short of a time, you owe too much on your home relative to its worth, you have insufficient income now, or your credit isn't that great.

How much is the home worth? How much do you currently owe on it? What is your ex-wife's credit like?

Like I said earlier, you may not like it, but your name might be stuck on the original loan until you can get the thing refinanced.

$70k on the house (I believe she's made about 9 payments or so. The car she's had since Oct. 06 and its right at $15k left

 

[darkxshade]

I bet she got a lawyer anyway... look out

 

[nanette1985]

If it isn't on the divorce papers, then you still owe both loans, and you are completely responsible for the total amount of both of them. Your name is on the loans, you are responsible.

Sometimes a divorce lawyer is a good idea.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Originally posted by: princess ida
If it isn't on the divorce papers, then you still owe both loans, and you are completely responsible for the total amount of both of them. Your name is on the loans, you are responsible.

Sometimes a divorce lawyer is a good idea.

It's on the papers that she's taking over the house/car. It's all we owe on besides normal bills we each had. ^_^

 

[akshatp]

Sorry to hear about the divorce ole buddy. I know you were moving around alot last year, hope you are settling in whereever you are

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: DigitalCancer

Originally posted by: princess ida
If it isn't on the divorce papers, then you still owe both loans, and you are completely responsible for the total amount of both of them. Your name is on the loans, you are responsible.

Sometimes a divorce lawyer is a good idea.

It's on the papers that she's taking over the house/car. It's all we owe on besides normal bills we each had. ^_^

It might be worth a visit to a lawyer to find out exactly what you might be liable for in case she defaults on the loans. Will those divorce papers get you off the hook? Does a creditor have to leave you alone because of those papers? Better to know now just in case. You don't want to see your credit trashed suddenly and have to fix it later.

The more I think about this, the more I question whether those divorce papers will protect you if she defaults. If I'm the bank, and Joe Deadbeat comes to me for a loan, I would turn him down. But if his wife with a great credit record co-signs the loan, I feel safer and make the loan. If they divorce later and their divorce papers say Joe is now solely responsible for the loan, why should I get screwed? I made a deal with both of them and that's why I even made the loan in the first place. I don't see how one person can be removed from the loan just because the two of them agreed that one of them will be responsible, without the bank's consent.

 

[Vehemence]

I don't know any answers, but I remember trading with you on here and wish you the best of luck in everything. :beer:

 

[alm4rr]

the loan company won't care about the divorce papers...no one will care about your divorce papers except you and the ex. so when she defaults, they will come after you... you can try and recover from her w/divorce papers, but she'll just file bankruptcy and then you won't be able to collect anything as a general creditor...

the true guarantee in this is... you will be screwed if you don't get a lawyer involved... dont be penny smart and pound foolish... you can never get out from those student loans, but she can ditch all her co-debt onto you...

what is the status of the divorce? final?

ps- why is she getting $86k in assets and you get the debt??

 

[DigitalCancer]

Originally posted by: akshatp
Sorry to hear about the divorce ole buddy. I know you were moving around alot last year, hope you are settling in whereever you are

Originally posted by: dNor
I don't know any answers, but I remember trading with you on here and wish you the best of luck in everything. :beer:

I appreciated the kind words guys. I am doing good now, just worried about her filing bankruptcy. She was talking about it at one point.



The divorce is final, has been for a few months now. The way we done it is...she takes her bills and i'll take mine.

We bought the car originally for her, so she'll keep that and the house since i'm moving.

The car is $16,000 ($370/month) and the house is $70,000 ($690/month)

Other than that...we had nothing so it was done fairly. I think I will call a lawyer today to figure out what I need to do though because I honestly don't want my credit ruined. I've got a bit of debt but I've always paid everything on time and I was getting ready to start paying cards off. (I save up the money and pay-off all at once b/c i'm horrible at managing a good payment, plus it gets me out of a little interest if I pay all at once it seems)

 

[chusteczka]

I remember talking with you about your possible divorce last year. It is good to hear the two of you were cooperative. My divorce finalized last October and here is what I see in your situation.

She did not use a lawyer, otherwise you would not be in this situation. During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along. The lawyer acted on her behalf but I also benefited. After the divorce was finalized, I paid half her legal expenses, which amounted to a total of $6k, of which I paid $3k.

I am surprised the judge divorced you with a house still owned between the two of you. Before your court date, she should have refinanced the home in her name, after which you would have signed a quit-claim deed. Do not sign a quit-claim deed until your name is no longer associated with the home loan. Homes are often sold during a divorce because neither party can separately afford to pay for it. If she cannot pay for it, then she will need to sell it. Until she sells it or refinances it, you are still liable. The mortgage company will not simply remove your name from the loan. She needs to refinance or you both sell the home.

Your name is still on the title to the home. It would be irresponsible of your wife to allow your name to be removed from the home loan without you quitting your claim to the home.

A good book to read at a time when you wish to rebuild yourself is Ayn Rand's, Anthem. It is a short book and a good, quick read.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: chusteczka
...

During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along....

When I picture the scene I chuckle. I see your wife talking to the lawyer, he is asking her some tough questions, he asks who you are and she states that you are the chump she wants to divorce and you wave sheepishly from the back of the room.

I know divorce isn't a laughing matter but I really don't think people always consider the finality of marriage and are too quick to embrace it as just another dispensable inconvenience.

 

[chusteczka]

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka
...

During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along....

When I picture the scene I chuckle. I see your wife talking to the lawyer, he is asking her some tough questions, he asks who you are and she states that you are the chump she wants to divorce and you wave sheepishly from the back of the room.

I know divorce isn't a laughing matter but I really don't think people always consider the finality of marriage and are too quick to embrace it as just another dispensable inconvenience.

I agree with this statement and did everything I could to ensure this was not the situation with me.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: chusteczka

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka
...

During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along....

When I picture the scene I chuckle. I see your wife talking to the lawyer, he is asking her some tough questions, he asks who you are and she states that you are the chump she wants to divorce and you wave sheepishly from the back of the room.

I know divorce isn't a laughing matter but I really don't think people always consider the finality of marriage and are too quick to embrace it as just another dispensable inconvenience.

I agree with this statement and did everything I could to ensure this was not the situation with me.

everytime I piss my wife off I remind her I am a lawyer with a ccw. :laugh:

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka
...

During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along....

When I picture the scene I chuckle. I see your wife talking to the lawyer, he is asking her some tough questions, he asks who you are and she states that you are the chump she wants to divorce and you wave sheepishly from the back of the room.

I know divorce isn't a laughing matter but I really don't think people always consider the finality of marriage and are too quick to embrace it as just another dispensable inconvenience.

I agree with this statement and did everything I could to ensure this was not the situation with me.

everytime I piss my wife off I remind her I am a lawyer with a ccw. :laugh:

CCW? Permit to carry?

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: chusteczka
...

During my divorce, my ex obtained a lawyer, I tagged along....

When I picture the scene I chuckle. I see your wife talking to the lawyer, he is asking her some tough questions, he asks who you are and she states that you are the chump she wants to divorce and you wave sheepishly from the back of the room.

I know divorce isn't a laughing matter but I really don't think people always consider the finality of marriage and are too quick to embrace it as just another dispensable inconvenience.

I agree with this statement and did everything I could to ensure this was not the situation with me.

everytime I piss my wife off I remind her I am a lawyer with a ccw. :laugh:

CCW? Permit to carry?

Text but we have made it without drawing any weapons.

We dated for 7 years and have been married for 8; we know and exploit each other pet peeves but we knew that there were some major differences that could destroy our marriage so we had to put in a lot of effort to make it work.