A client recently came to our firm for help because he had been sued. While that situation may not seem all that odd, because, after all, we’re lawyers, I write about it because the situation was completely avoidable.
Our client jointly owned a piece of property with his ex-spouse. Years ago, the two went through a no-contest type divorce and kept the home in both their names. His spouse remained in the home and he moved out. They figured if the house was ever sold, they would split the proceeds.
However, what our client didn’t account for, was being sued through no fault of his own. As it turned out, his former spouse had defaulted on the mortgage on the home. As a result, both owners, now divorced, were sued for her failure to make payment. He had no choice but to hire a lawyer and try to defend the lawsuit.
Ultimately, because he came to us right away, we were able to jump in quickly and take action to resolve the lawsuit favorably.
Many people jointly own property with another person. Whether you have handled your own divorce, gone through some on-line divorce factory, or even if you are merely a joint owner with a friend or relative, the reality is that if you do not use or benefit from the property, you may want to strongly consider selling or transferring your interest, especially if the relationship has turned sour. If you are unable to sell your interest, you may want to consider a partition lawsuit to gain court assistance in negotiations or facilitate a potential sale.
The process to transfer your ownership interest is fairly straightforward and the horror stories are easily avoided. Please contact Adam Anderson, at aanderson@PaLawFirm.com or 412-209-3200 for a free consult and to learn more about deed transfers and partitions.