One stumbling block after another

[Phillip Allen]

Finally got the first disbursment check from the mortgage co so I can begin reconstruction on the house...made out to me AND my former girlfriend who moved out and signed a quit-claim to me five years ago. I expect her to try to sell her indorsment on that check for a piece of it...a large piece of it!

ARRRRGGGG!

[JimD]

Brutal.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

If she quit claim to it, why do you need her signature?

[Mrleft8]

If she quit claim to it, why do you need her signature?

You don't. Fax a copy of the quit claim to the mortgage co. and have them write a new check. DON'T let her sign it!!!! By letting her sign it you are implying that she still has a claim to part of the property.

[Phillip Allen]

You don't. Fax a copy of the quit claim to the mortgage co. and have them write a new check. DON'T let her sign it!!!! By letting her sign it you are implying that she still has a claim to part of the property.

The mortgage company would not take her name off the mortgage five years ago...they HAVE a copy of the quit-claim! These are not "strings", they are tendrils!

The insurance company made their check out to me AND the mortgage company...the mortgage company made the disbursement check out to me AND my ex girl friend...I called the woman and she says she will think about it but feels like she's owed 5000K so will take a few "days" to develope her plan of "action".

gonna be a sleepless night I bet...the general contractor is losing his window of oppurtuinity to start work...a further complication!

(sigh)...(I HATE fighting!)

BTW...I called the mortgage company (Countrywide) and was informed that it would take aprox a month to get another check in my hands...GREAT!

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

I wouldn't give her a dime Phil.
I'll bet the morgage Co. could have your check to you in a week if you were real nice.
Hang in there.

[brad9798]

Perhaps she doesn't need to sign it ... ;)

30 days? BS. Ask for their supervisor. That's just a ploy to earn more interest on your money ...

[Phillip Allen]

Tomorrow I'll try to deposit it in my account without her sigy before I go back through the MC...maybe I'll get lucky (finally)

[High C]

We've been through a lot of this sort of thing here since the hurricane, with insurance companies making checks out to all sorts of people, mortgage companies, cosigning relatives, ex-wives, and whomever else. It was a hot topic on local talk radio every day for months.

Whatever you do, don't let her endorse that check!!!!!!!

You might be able to simply deposit the check in the bank's night deposit box and have it clear. The worst that will happen is that the bank will return it to you.

You need sound legal advice. It'd be a lot cheaper than giving her 5 grand!

And I hate to add this, but you need to know, that Country Wide quickly developed a reputation of being the most difficult to deal with. If they actually said they would reissue a check only in your name, you're already ahead of the game.

All the best...

[Phillip Allen]

Thanks folks...I'll feel better after a night's sleep...gonna take a couple of asprins and a Benadryl...got a new Patrick O'Brian book to read ... "The Golden Ocean"

[Norman Bernstein]

I'm no expert on this, but I believe that checks made out to two parties are treated as if they were JTROS (Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship), meaning that each party can negotiate the instrument individually. If so, then you can deposit the check without her signature.

[Phillip Allen]

Well Norman...I'll find out tomorrow...

[John of Phoenix]

Plan A: Take the quit claim to the bank, have them make a certified copy for their records and deposit the check to your account.

Plan B: Just deposit it into your account. WARNING: If the check's issued with and "AND" designation it should be deposited to a joint account of the same parties or have both signatures if deposited to a single account. Banks don't follow this rule on a hard and fast basis which means there's a minor chance that you're open to problems down the line. Just because it clears today doesn't mean they won't take it back later.

Plan C: Have the check reissued in your name only. This is the BEST solution as it cuts the exGF out legally at the source, now and forever. (Roger your time constraints.)

[Phillip Allen]

You guys won't believe the run-around the mortgage company is giving me...I'm on hold as I type

[Phillip Allen]

Ready for the latest? the mortgage company insists I get Katherine's sig on the check...I told them she has hinted at a pay-off to her and they said "we're sorry but that's the way it is...and by the way, you have to pay her with monies other than from our check to you"

The above is my wording (take) but I believe this is the intent of the communication...

[Norman Bernstein]

Well, aside from the time and money involved, seems to me you have a pretty good lawsuit. If the quitclaim is valid, then you can go to court to force them to honor the check to you alone.

Time to see a lawyer.

[Phillip Allen]

just got off the phone with a contract lawyer...I did a brick/stone job for her partner...Monday appointment though...

[Phillip Allen]

HEY! what if I open a new account in Katherine's and my name and forget to tell her about it?

[Bruce Hooke]

Seems like a bad idea to me...if she ever found out there could be all sorts of trouble.

Also, I think you'd need her signature as part of the process of opening the account.

A lawyer definitely seems like the right way to go about this, even though it is a hassle.

[JTA]

Tomorrow I'll try to deposit it in my account without her sigy before I go back through the MC...maybe I'll get lucky (finally)




Plan B: Just deposit it into your account. ...

Plan C: Have the check reissued in your name only. This is the BEST solution as it cuts the exGF out legally at the source, now and forever. (Roger your time constraints.)

Your idea and Plan B seem bad bad to me. She knows about the check, she see's $$ she will try to get it somehow.

Plan C and lawyer are the best bets in my opinion. But please do not deposit the check


You guys won't believe the run-around the mortgage company is giving me...I'm on hold as I type

Oh yes, I and several thousand of my neighbors know EXACTLY what you are going through. And it sucks

Jack

[Norman Bernstein]

HEY! what if I open a new account in Katherine's and my name and forget to tell her about it?

Don't think it would help. In order to open a JTWROS account, both signatures would be needed, so you couldn't do it unless you wanted to commit fraud via forgery.

I'm still amazed that the company won't honor the check, even after being shown evidence of the quitclaim deed. Too bad the money is more than the threshold for small claims court, because you could file a case and have a summons issued in a matter of a day or two, if that were the case.... companies like that tend to perk up to attention when threatened with legal action.

Still, a conventional lawsuit isn't expensive to file. When I had to sue Simrad for failing to pay royalties for some software I licensed to them, the cost to file a lawsuit in Federal court was only $150, plus attorney fees. It's possible that you could get the suit started for less than, say, $500.... and I bet the company would instantly honor the check, once they were served notice of the suit.

[Another One]

Phil, the attorney is the right way to go. But just off the cuff, not to be construed as legal advice, keeping in mind that this is my field:

The issue may be that although she no longer is in title on the deed, she may be listed on the mortgage. If so, the note and mortgage are still contractually tied to her, including (probably and purely theoretically) the option of the lender to go after her if you book with the money. But if she's has been out of title since before the original mortgage, it seems to me that an attorney could write one pithy letter on letterhead and get this cleared up pretty fast.

Good luck.

Jami

[John of Phoenix]

HEY! what if I open a new account in Katherine's and my name and forget to tell her about it?
You'll get to experience just what the Patriot Act is all about. In fact, I suggest you delete that post and I'll do the same. Seriously.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Perhaps she doesn't need to sign it ... ;)

30 days? BS. Ask for their supervisor. That's just a ploy to earn more interest on your money ...

Countrywide sux. I got a buddy at Wells Fargo if you need to move it.

[Another One]

HEY! what if I open a new account in Katherine's and my name and forget to tell her about it?

Y'know, I have a former step-mother who actually did that about 10 years ago. She almost got away with it. The bank just happened to mention it to her soon-to-be ex, while he was closing the other joint account. :o

[brad9798]

I don't work with Wells Fargo either ... they are fairly predatory ...

[Phillip Allen]

she stopped by today and I had company...she said she would return later and discuss "business" ...I'm not looking foward to this "business" meeting...

[George Roberts]

The mortgage company appears to be correct in their actions.

2 people are named on the mortgage. She is still liable to the mortgage company. They are still liable to her.

---

A quit claim was perhaps the wrong piece of paper to have. A power of attorney with respect to the property might have been more appropriate.

[Phillip Allen]

perhaps so George but where does that leave me now?