myslyn Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 My husband and I were finally able to buy a house around a 1 1/2 ago and at the time, I thought it was a good idea to put my name on the deed of the house. Only my husband could qualify for a loan; my credit was non-existent not to mention, I had not worked since 2005. Fast forward to today when there are JDB's sending me collection letters and such I realize that maybe I should not have put my name on the house. Since they can't get the money from me, isn't there a good chance that they would put a lien on the home? I read someone's post somewhere on the site about collectors taking bank accts so I took my name off of our bank acct. I have read up on quit claim deeds and I am not concerned about my husband doing anything "wrong" if my name is not on the deed. I just want to know is this the only way to protect your property from JDBs and the like? Any help is appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skot0123 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I'm not sure how it is where you live but here in Va and in many other states it doesn't really matter if your name is on it or not. If your state is a community property state then they can go after the spouse for the other spouse's debts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swirlgirl Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I just want to say that you can't run from the debts forever. If you deal with them proactively, you can lessen the odds of getting sued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Virginia is not a community property state, nor is Indiana:Arizona California Idaho Louisiana Nevada New Mexico Texas Washington WisconsinYou need to know how your property was deeded. If it is deeded as tenants by the entirety, then no lien can be placed against the property for the debt of either of you individually. Essentially, that's the point of deeding property in such a way. I think Indiana is a state that recognizes TBE. If it is deeded as TBE, then no need to do anything. No lien can attach for your debt alone. They can sue & win, but if you don't own any non-TBE property, then you are judgment proof.If its deeded as joint tenancy, then you can quit claim, but a smart creditor could move to attach anyway due to state law. I'm not saying they would, but they could. They'd first have to sue & win and get a judgment. Then they'd have to claim the transfer fruadulent under your state's Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (UFTA, Section 5). This would be quite easy to do since you are a) transferring away your only attachable asset, the debt was from prior to the transfer and c) the transfer was for less than fair market value (you are not receiving a check for 1/2 of the FMV of the property). UFTA section 7 allows a judgment creditor to then levy or place a lien on the asset transferred (the house). Again, they could do this, but for a small credit card debt I'm not sure they would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstsource Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Thanks so much for the reply. I will recommend that everyone that can have their property "deeded as tenants by the entirety" do it that way. I wish that a title company had told me about that option.Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 It is limited to certain states that recognize it and is only for married couples. Note that the IRS overrides TBE protection. So if one spouse is in tax trouble, they can go after TBE property unlike any other creditor.http://www.answers.com/topic/tenancy-by-the-entirety-2?cat=biz-fin"A type of concurrent estate in real property held by a husband and wife whereby each owns the undivided whole of the property, coupled with the right of survivorship, so that upon the death of one, the survivor is entitled to the decedent's share.A tenancy by the entirety allows spouses to own property together as a single legal entity. Under a tenancy by the entirety, creditors of an individual spouse may not attach and sell the interest of a debtor spouse: only creditors of the couple may attach and sell the interest in the property owned by tenancy by the entirety.There are three types of concurrent ownership, or ownership of property by two or more persons: tenancy by the entirety, joint tenancy, and tenancy in common. A tenancy by the entirety can be created only by married persons. A married couple may choose to create a joint tenancy or a tenancy in common. In most states a married couple is presumed to take title to property as tenants by the entirety, unless the deed or conveyancing document states otherwise.The most important difference between a tenancy by the entirety and a joint tenancy or tenancy in common is that a tenant by the entirety may not sell or give away his interest in the property without the consent of the other tenant. Upon the death of one of the spouses, the deceased spouse's interest in the property devolves to the surviving spouse, and not to other heirs of the deceased spouse. This is called the right of survivorship.Tenants in common do not have a right of survivorship. In a tenancy in common, persons may sell or give away their ownership interest. Joint tenants do have a right of survivorship, but a joint tenant may sell or give away her interest in the property. If a joint tenant sells her interest in a joint tenancy, the tenancy becomes a tenancy in common, and no tenant has a right of survivorship. A tenancy by the entirety cannot be reduced to a joint tenancy or tenancy in common by a conveyance of property. Generally, the couple must divorce, obtain an annulment, or agree to amend the title to the property to extinguish a tenancy by the entirety." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Summary of each state's laws re: options on how to deed property. Basic but a good starting point.http://www.lawchek.com/resources/forms/que/ownership.htm"Indiana recognizes the following types of ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy and tenancy by entirety, but not community property. A grant of ownership of real estate to two or more persons is presumed to create a tenancy in common, unless a joint tenancy is specifically created. In the case of a deed for husband and wife, a tenancy by entirety is created. Indiana Code §32-1-2-7, 8." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstsource Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Yes, this is what I got back from my local title company:In Utah we can only use "joint tenants" which means if husband and wife are on title and husband dies then wife gets full ownership of the property. Or "tenants in common" which means if husband and wife are title and husband dies then his heirs get his ownership. So wife has 50% ownership and husbands heirs have 50% ownership.but I will ask in the other states if it is an option. Would you know about MO?ThanksCharles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Full Fledged Tenancy by the Entirety States: checking accounts, homes, etc.:Alaska Arkansas Delaware District of Columbia Florida Hawaii Maryland Massachusetts Mississippi Missouri New Jersey Mississippi Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Vermont Virginia Tennessee Wyoming Tenancy by the Entirety Only for Real Estate: Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan New York North Carolina Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myslyn Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Hi Swirlgirl...I am sure that you meant well by that statement but in saying "you can run from your bills forever" you implied that I don't pay any bills, and this is not true. I do pay my bills; this bill is a zombie debt that is out of SOL and I only was concerned about it. I do thank you for replying though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myslyn Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Virginia is not a community property state, nor is Indiana:Arizona California Idaho Louisiana Nevada New Mexico Texas Washington WisconsinYou need to know how your property was deeded. If it is deeded as tenants by the entirety, then no lien can be placed against the property for the debt of either of you individually. Essentially, that's the point of deeding property in such a way. I think Indiana is a state that recognizes TBE. If it is deeded as TBE, then no need to do anything. No lien can attach for your debt alone. They can sue & win, but if you don't own any non-TBE property, then you are judgment proof.If its deeded as joint tenancy, then you can quit claim, but a smart creditor could move to attach anyway due to state law. I'm not saying they would, but they could. They'd first have to sue & win and get a judgment. Then they'd have to claim the transfer fruadulent under your state's Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (UFTA, Section 5). This would be quite easy to do since you are a) transferring away your only attachable asset, the debt was from prior to the transfer and c) the transfer was for less than fair market value (you are not receiving a check for 1/2 of the FMV of the property). UFTA section 7 allows a judgment creditor to then levy or place a lien on the asset transferred (the house). Again, they could do this, but for a small credit card debt I'm not sure they would.Thanks so much for checking this post, JQ; your information was right on point! From what you said, I was able to call the title company to find out the status of our deed (JBE...yay!) and they put it together that way without us knowing how important to have our deed set up this way. I almost went to file a quit claim deed a few weeks ago because I had not checked out here first to ask a few questions. Thanks so much for posting this wealth of information; I can't wait to write it down for later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaware_silverfox Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thank You so much for your explaination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myslyn Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Yes! I agree...the information provided was tremendously helpful, not just for me, but for others, I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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