Property

[ONLY INCLUDE IF THEY ARE ASKING ABOUT GETTING OFF OF A MORTGAGE: Generally, issues of joint debt and joint property between unmarried parties can be very difficult to resolve. One way for a person to get off of a joint mortgage may be for the other person to refinance the property in his/her name only. If the parties are agreeable on this, then the party that wants to get out from under the property may be able to sign a deed transferring their interest to the party that is keeping the property, while that person refinances the loan. Depending on how much equity the parties have in the property, the person keeping the property may have to make a payment to buy out the other person’s interest.]

If the parties are able to communicate with each other, one option may be for the parties to agree to sell the property and split the proceeds. If property is held jointly in two or more people’s names, then both people may likely have to sign off on any kind of transfer or sale. If it’s a property with a mortgage on it, once it is sold, the mortgage balance would be paid off first and then the rest of the money would be split between the original owners.

If the parties cannot agree on how to divide or handle the property, one of the parties may be able to file a “partition action” where a judge could issue an order requiring that the property be sold or otherwise divided in a way that separates the interests and liabilities of the parties. This kind of action may be complicated and someone who needs to file one would probably want to talk to a lawyer before deciding on a course of action. You can find information about free and unpaid lawyers on our Finding a Lawyer page.