Names on title

stephenBishop

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
I need some clarification, particularly as my wife and I may be headed for divorce after 18 years of marriage.

Over the course of our marriage we've acquired four properties, the home we live in plus three investment properties. With each acquisition my wife has put the homes exclusively in her name, something that has always been a sore point with me and something we've clashed over a number of times as I see it as her pursuing her own financial agenda. Our home was purchased with money she brought to the table for a small deposit, while two of the investment properties were purchased via a inheritance from my wife's grandmother that was used for deposits and to pay for all the rehab work. The 4th property was bought at my suggestion by redirecting a 401k account with $40,000 in it that wasn't performing well - the money was enough for the deposit and rehab costs.

My wife has put in about 150k while I've put in nothing financially - basically because I've been the stay at home husband through the years raising the children and rehabbing the homes - I have next to no money of my own anymore as I gave up the craft business I started when I moved here in order to stay at home and look after the family - my wife and I shared a common belief in terms of old family values regarding having a parent at home, and because my wife works in the corporate sector it fell to me to be the one to stay at home for the family. I've tried a few things to bring in a little money from home, but it hasn't been much.

Each of the houses was bought at bottom of the barrel prices because they were in shocking condition and uniquely suited to us - for normal home owners the costs of contracting all the work out would have been astronomical, while for investors the margin for profit would have been marginal because of all the work. I grew up rehabbing homes from top to bottom for my father so I can do everything - electrical, plumbing, floors, framing, kitchens, drywall, painting, etc. In short, I spent months working on each house - in one case I lived in one of the houses for close to 10 months on my own to fix it up - and have easily saved us twice what my wife put in in contractor costs, probably even more.

Example? When we bought our own home it had been left empty and without power for two years, with water leaking in through the roof causing parts of the ceiling to collapse and leaving so much moisture in the house that there was black mold everywhere. The mold remediation quotes ranged from $15,000 to $30,000 - I did a deal with one guy for $2000 to mark out all the areas that needed to be treated, then come back after I had done all the work myself, test, then sign off on it. I wouldn't let my wife or the kids near the place for weeks, did it all, and suffered excruciating headaches from the mold the whole time, even with a mask - but I saved us a ton of money.

I can document each and every single piece of work that I did, together with photographs. We simply wouldn't have any of the homes without all of my input, nor maintain them at the minimal costs involved every time we get stuck with a bad tenant a who trashes the place. My wife pays me $250 a month to 'maintain' the properties, do the repairs, mow the lawns, etc.

In recognition of not just our marriage, but as partners in all this, it would have seemed natural to me that both our names go on the deeds - the fact she set it up so that only her name appears has always left me nervous thinking she was looking after herself. In one of our more recent arguments over it she claimed there was no way my name could appear on the deeds because her name alone is on the mortgage documents. So basically that's my question - is that true?

Sorry to be so ignorant on the matter but I'm not familiar with the relevant legal issues here. I moved to the USA from Australia to marry my wife in 2000 and placed a great deal of faith and trust in her to do so after I gave up everything back home to make the change. Now I feel like I'm going to head home dead broke after my wife does her best to hold on to the real estate portfolio we built up together.
 
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You need to hire yourself a lawyer.

Don't try to litigate this yourself.

Your lawyer will educate you as to how best to proceed.

Don't seek free advice when REAL money is involved.


The distribution of property in a divorce in Florida is covered by Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes. Rather than a community property state, such as California, Florida has adopted what is known as Equitable Distribution. Under the Equitable Distribution scheme, marital property is fairly divided between the parties.
 
Thanks. I have done a bit of reading on the matter since I posted, and came across the part about equitable distribution. Though it's not important overall, I still can't find a suitable answer to the point my wife made about the names on the titles. It's still not 100% certain we will get divorced - I'm just trying to get clarification on certain aspects. If we do find some kind of resolution I'd like my names showing on the titles for the properties as a sign of faith and in recognition of the integral part I played in acquiring the properties.
 
I still can't find a suitable answer to the point my wife made about the names on the titles.

The answer is simple. You went along with it. She OWNS the properties.

There is no doubt that you have an equitable marital interest in the value of the properties which she will have to pay you in cash if she has it or sell the properties to pay you in the event of divorce.

If your marriage is on the rocks, get a lawyer.
 
If we do find some kind of resolution I'd like my names showing on the titles for the properties as a sign of faith and in recognition of the integral part I played in acquiring the properties.


I can only echo what @adjusterjack suggested, hire yourself a divorce lawyer.

You might NOT get your name on the deed, but a good lawyer can PROBABLY get you a portion of the value of the properties involved by a forced sale of the properties.

However, the inheritance your spouse used to buy property will likely be untouchable, insofar as you ever obtaining an equitable distribution for the homes she bought with inheritance proceeds.

You're wasting your time asking the same questions over and over.

See a couple licensed lawyers in your county and ask away.

Most lawyers will meet with you for a free initial consultation/evaluation of your issues.
 
Clearly I AM wasting my tine asking the same question, because people keep going in the wrong direction on it - you quoted me the passage I wrote about seeking resolution, yet jumped to hunting up a divorce lawyer - and you think the two are connected? How? I'm not asking about proceeds, lawyers, etc, I just voiced some concerns if my wife and I end up going down that road - I can easily address it then by hiring a lawyer if/when divorce proceedings take place, that's obvious. This is the real estate section of the site, I was trying to find out if someone actually knew enough about Florida real estate law to answer the simple basic question on whether my wife was telling me the truth or not about her reasons for why her name alone appears on the titles - why is that so hard to process? Being told I need to get a divorce attorney is not an answer, just the bleeding obvious if or when the time arrives to actually get a divorce. I wanted to know enough about the matter so that if we go into mediation to try and patch up our marriage I can at least know where I stand on the issue of the titles. Sorry that was too much for people to process.
 
In one of our more recent arguments over it she claimed there was no way my name could appear on the deeds because her name alone is on the mortgage documents. So basically that's my question - is that true?

Mortgage lenders normally don't want anyone on title who isn't also obligated on the mortgage. However, your wife's name name presumably wasn't "on [any] mortgage documents" until the time of purchase of each property, so there's no obvious reason why your name couldn't have been on the mortgages, thereby allowing you also to be on title.

Of course, what's done is done.

Is that really the only thing you wanted to ask?

If we do find some kind of resolution I'd like my names showing on the titles for the properties as a sign of faith and in recognition of the integral part I played in acquiring the properties.

It is possible that adding your name to the titles could trigger defaults under the mortgages, so this may not be as simple as adding your name to the title.

I was trying to find out if someone actually knew enough about Florida real estate law to answer the simple basic question on whether my wife was telling me the truth or not about her reasons for why her name alone appears on the titles - why is that so hard to process?

I'm not really sure why you're talking such a pissy tone with the persons who spent their valuable time trying to provide you with information. That being said, this isn't a matter of law. It's a matter of what mortgage lenders do and don't permit and require.
 
This is the real estate section of the site, I was trying to find out if someone actually knew enough about Florida real estate law to answer the simple basic question on whether my wife was telling me the truth or not about her reasons for why her name alone appears on the titles - why is that so hard to process?

For one thing, you haven't given us much to go on. You wrote:

In one of our more recent arguments over it she claimed there was no way my name could appear on the deeds because her name alone is on the mortgage documents. So basically that's my question - is that true?

That has nothing to do with law. That has to do with what she wanted and what the mortgage company wanted.

Basically, it's not true because she could put your name on the deeds at any time after getting the mortgages. You can check the loan contracts but an intra-family transfer generally does not activate the due on sale clause and mortgage companies don't say boo about it.

As a matter of fact I don't see why you both couldn't have been on the deeds and on the mortgages from the getgo.

When I was married I was self employed and my wife made a very large salary. Every time we bought a house we bought it jointly and took out a mortgage together with me showing zero income to avoid having to go through all the documentation hassle since her income was sufficient to cover the mortgage and then some.

I can't imagine why that couldn't happen in Florida.

Maybe there are more questions you should be asking your wife.

The reason everybody is talking about lawyers is because you wrote this:

Now I feel like I'm going to head home dead broke after my wife does her best to hold on to the real estate portfolio we built up together.

A lawyer is how you protect yourself against that.

If we do find some kind of resolution I'd like my names showing on the titles for the properties as a sign of faith and in recognition of the integral part I played in acquiring the properties.

Then ask for it. Better yet, have a lawyer prepare the documents transferring all the property from her to you and her as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Shouldn't cost you much to have that done and all the information about the properties is online at the county assessor's website.

Then hand her the documents and ask her to sign them "as a sign of faith and in recognition of the integral part I played in acquiring the properties."
 
Mickey and Minnie Mouse are married and purchase four pieces of real estate, in addition to the marital home.

Mickey's name is not listed on the deeds to any of the properties.

Florida is a homestead state in which BOTH spouses must join in (be named) on the mortgage.

Florida law on homestead is BOTH constitutional and statutory, but well founded.

Bottom line, if Mickey's name is not on the deed to the marital home, should Minnie and Mickey divorce, Mickey will "take something"; name not on deed aside.

Both parties will also need to join in on the deed if the property is ever sold, however.

This prevents Minnie from stiffing Mickey.

However, all of the above refers ONLY to the marital home.

If one spouse isn't named on "investment properties", that becomes far more contentious.

For instance, if Minnie used inheritance money from her Aunt Missy to buy an investment property, Mickey will take nothing anyway.

Inheritance funds are not summarily shared because people are married.

@zddoodah was quite correct as stated above about part of this issue being up to the lender and its rules/policies, not a matter of law.

However, if Minnie failed to reveal she was married to Mickey on her mortgage application(s), that might open up another can of worms.

These Florida lawyers discuss these issues, so have a look if you wish:

Can I Leave My Spouse Off of Title? - Berlin Patten Ebling

Does a spouse have to be on the deed to have homestead rights? | Florida Probate & Trust Litigation Blog



Others chime in, too:

State by State Marital Signature Requirements

Florida Tenancy by the Entirety

Can You Buy a Home Without Your Spouse in Florida?
 
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