Signing the title

[weatherman55]

I want to refinance the house but noticed that the title is still in my Ex-wife and my name. The house and land is mine according to the divorce papers. I contacted her and she refuses to sign the title or even a Power of Attorney form. What can I do? I really dont have the time or money to take this back to court.

 

[army judge]

I want to refinance the house but noticed that the title is still in my Ex-wife and my name. The house and land is mine according to the divorce papers. I contacted her and she refuses to sign the title or even a Power of Attorney form. What can I do? I really dont have the time or money to take this back to court.

There is NOTHING that you can do LEGALLY to force her to sign over a quit claim deed to you.

There is something that the judge who presided over your divorce can do, ORDER HER TO SIGN or be held in CONTEMPT.

If you want her to sign off the deed, you will have to take her to court and ask the judge to order her to obey his order, or she'll be held in contempt.

Now she can still refuse, and if she does refuse, the judge will send her off to jail to cool her heels.

After a couple of hours, most people get religion, apologize to the judge, and do as they have been instructed.

I know of one person that cooled his heels in the hoosegow for almost a month before he got religion.

Anyway, you may not want to go to court, but if you want her off the deed, that is your ONLY LEGAL option.

 

[kknight]

Hi, first you are stating you want to "re" finance your house ,does that mean there is a Deed of trust with a current lien that she is also financially responsible for?
Was the Mortgage debt both of yours or is she released from this now that the divorce is final?
If she has been removed as a debtor on the deed of trust then it should not be too difficult...
If she has been taken off the prior debt by the lender you need to request a release of deed of trust with the public trustee's office to have her name removed.
You have to provide an evidence of debt form with the lenders signature (notarized) along with the release or resolutions & indemnification agreement showing she should not be held liable for any future transactions relating to the property or debt.
Did she have a lawyer? If she will not sign the release of deed of trust then they maybe able to facilitate the filing on her behalf.
You need to take a certified copy of the divorce decree showing the division of property to the county clerk of the court and ask for the title to be changed they may direct you to the county assessors who's job it is to record the current ownership of any real property, and file a real property transfer along with the request to transfer the deed.
Your first step is to gather all info you can from you county's web site that is a good start, if you get stumped call and ask the appropriate offices what steps you need to take.
You may need to file a request for an order by the court to have her sign off on the property, there should not have to be a hearing just a review which may be done by the clerk of the court to the Judge that granted the divorce decree.
Good luck.