Texas divorce agreement joint ownership real estate question

[Garymustang1977]

Hello there,

 

It's been awhile and a long road to getting to the place I'm at with my divorce. My soon-to-be-ex and I have a mediated agreement whereby she will keep the house and live there, we will be divorced, but will remain joint owners of the single family home.

 

Does anyone know what the procedure is for converting our present deed as a JOINT TENANCY to a TENANTS IN COMMON deed once we're divorced? It's a sticking point for me on the mediated agreement that has not been filed in court, and I want to be clear that I retain a portion of the right of ownership of the home, so that in the future I can sell my share of the residence.

 

Thanks very much for any insight,

Gary

[carhill]

I'd run this by a real estate attorney. It's generally a straightforward deeding process, so inexpensive as far as having the deeds filled out properly and filed properly. An attorney can also quickly run down the risks, rewards and various scenarios regarding this choice.

 

Essentially, each joint tenant conveys their interest in the property to the tenants in common, either in equal percentages or other, for consideration or other.

 

If the property has a mortgage where the former married couple/joint tenants are the mortgagors, there may be issues which crop up with the mortgage holder/servicer, depending on their rules and how the mortgage was originally approved and structured.

 

Something else to consider is that few people will likely be willing to purchase an undivided share in a SFH. Sure, it happens with vacation homes and specialty properties but I don't think this is any of those. Essentially, either the person would be a future relation of your wife seeking to live there, or an investor looking to make a ROI on market appreciation. This presumes your wife doesn't buy your share at a future date, which is the most common possibility/probability.

 

Lastly, whatever you and your wife mediate will necessarily need to pass court muster as to form and content. I know this because the court kicked back our MSA a few times for improper procedures/content. Professional legal help fixed that, along with the family law self-help people at the courthouse. That isn't relevant to the specific deed issue but that issue may not happen if the court doesn't like the way things look. It depends on what orders they issue, if they do.

 

Good luck.