My husband and I have been married for 15 years come September. We have lived in our current house for 5 years. However when we qualified for the loan it actually hurt us to put my name on there because at the time I wasn't working. Over the last two years we have paid off close to $20,000 worth of debt. All we have left is one car, the house, and one more credit card. My question is this though. Say something happened to my husband.....since my name isn't anywhere on the loan. What would happen to my/our house? We currently have no will -but we are supposed to do that tomorrow but I just wondered what would happen? I was thinking that I could stay there and maybe the bank would require me to refinance the home under my name? Which I don't even think I would have to because I'm sure the life insurance policy would cover the amount of the loan.....I know this is more of a legal question but I just wanted to know if anyone else had ever gone through this and what ended up happening? I live in Georgia and I know it varies from state to state as well. If you have a will and everything is left to the other spouse does that supercede the fact that my name isn't on the loan?
you don't have to be on the loan-you just have to be added to the deed-and take ownership as "Tenants by the Entirety"-there will probably be a fee to do this-say around $150
It doesn't really matter whose name is on the loan. What matters is if your name is on the deed. It probably is since you were married at the time of purchase. Without a will everything would go to you as next of kin anyway.
Yes, the bank would require refinancing since banks haven't really allowed assumption of mortgage for nearly 30 years. If you didn't qualify for the loan then you would have to obtain private financing, pay off the mortgage with life insurance proceeds or sell the house.
It depends on your state, but the loan isn't the issue. Typically, what matters is whose name is on the deed. If both names are on the deed, then you would keep the house. The loan issue would be settled between the bank and your husband's estate, but you would likely need to apply for a loan in YOUR name to make the payments or use his life insurance (please tell me you have it) to pay off the balance of the mortgage.
You can add your name to the deed at any time and you don't have to be on the loan. Also if something happened to your husband without a will you are considered the next of kin and will handle everything. You will have to go through a probate lawyer to help with all of the legal issues and that gets costly. I would suggest having a will and increasing your life insurance to at least cover your mortgage and funeral costs if something were to happen to either of you.
we just bought our first house. on the deed we chose "right of survivorship" so that if one of us passed the other would get the house. I understand this to be a new thing so I dont know what the 2 of you signed for or what was available. When we read what everything meant it explained that the option that was the norm back when did not grant the house to an individual (unless it was in a LEGAL will) but that it basically could be fought over by the family. So in that case it would not go directly to you. It could go to your kids.
Now that rates are so low, could you re-fi and have your name on the loan?
I do not know the law, but I felt uncomfortable when the broker suggested just to put my husband on the loan. He made it sound like it was common and no big deal since I was on the deed. I am on the loan and I am a SAMH. I wanted to feel safe incase something happened to my husband. I also like that it helps my credit rating. I noticed a few people suggested using the life insurance policy. I would rather pay a monthly mortgage and not have to use the lump sum to pay off a house. I might be in different shoes, since the housing prices in CA are high.
I also do not want to be forced to sell our house. If something (death) happened to me or my husband, I want to make sure the house is not going to be something to stress about since we will have more than enough to worry about.
I guess my question should be, would I need to re-fi if my husband passes away? Obviously my husband would be able to qualify if I die (he has a steady income) if refinancing is required.
Under most jurisdictictions when you receive an inheritance you assume responsibility for both the assets and liabilities of the deceased person. So you not only inherit their "stuff" and money but also all of their debts, loans, back taxes and you can even be liable for any outstanding civil judgements (say if someone sued that person, the lawsuit can proceed even after they die!).
Make sure you ask the lawyer about the laws specific to your state when you get the will set up.
Good luck.
I only know about the state I am in, and here (KY) the property in a marriage is joint whether the other person's name is on it or not. When your spouse dies, you now own it. The house deed is yours, and you will be responsible for continuing to pay off the loan, or else sell the house.
You could look up the rules for your specific state by searching on your state and marriage (or marital) property laws.
Not sure how your bank would handle or your state. But, when my husband and I bought the building we live in, we bought it with his cousin. We refinanced and only I am on the loan. His cousin and I are on the title (my husband had a hissy fit about somehting and refused to sign as an owner <sigh here>). The paperwork for us indicated him as my spouse and right of survivor and his cousin's had the same thing for his wife. This was back in 2001 and 2003 so not really new. As for what happens if somehting should happen, most of the time the bank just wants the mortgage paid and will not act as long as it is. You do want to be sure to update the title should you decide to sell. But just either pay off or keep paying the mortgage. A friend of my husband has a cousin whose husband died. The wife had been added to the title when they married but only he was on the mortgage. She did not pay off the loan because she wanted to make sure she has money available if needed. But she is making the monthly payments. She is a stay at home and going to school. The insurance is enough to continue this for a couple years. This happened last summer and she has not had any problems.
Not sure about your state, but I live in Florida, and even though I am not on the actual loan for the house with my husband, because we are married, I had to be listed on the deed to the property. I would check to see if you are listed on the deed. In the event of his untimely death, I do believe that you as his wife, would inherit the house and the mort. In the event of a divorce, well, you also would go through a divorce in court as anyone else who IS on the loan, and would probably end up with half, unless some other agreement was come to between both of you. (my hubby and I decided long ago that if something EVER happened to our marrige, we would just have me stay in the house with the kids until they all finished school so it wouldn't upset their lives more than needed, and after they were done with school, we would sell and split the proceeds) Thankfully, that has never happened, and we are halfway there with 2 of the 4 in college. :)
I think that these are good questions to ask when you are sitting there with the attorney working on the will.
I know my MIL told me they had mortgage insurance on their home and property. It would pay off the house and stuff when one passed away. I don't know anything about that but I know he doesn't make a house payment anymore.
I think if you are his legal heir then it just takes some time but it will all work out okay.
