MOV? Disputes on HELOC ordered paid by Ex - not paying

[Anonymous]

First post on here...  I have read a lot and found so much helpful knowledge!

Situation:

My ex and I got a HELOC from USAA about 8 years ago.

Been divorced for 6 yrs.  She was awarded the house, and everything with it, including 1st and 2nd mrtg.  She was given 24 months to re-fi or sell.

She filed BK stopped paying on the HELOC a couple months after divorce.  Despite being ordered to indemify me for any loss from her non-payment...  24 months came and went, and not sold, not refied.  She is using my credit with no penalty.

I took to family court and they offered no relief - as though they never issued the order.

(Contemplating a civil suit to compel her to sell.  Sufficient equity that she could pay off 1st & 2nd and come away with a good windfall)

ANYHOW - now I am stuck with a couple of years of non-payments on the HELOC on my credit.  Killing me!

I have reached out to all CRA's and nothing - so far is being done.

EX said that they investigated and it remains.

EQ said that they investigating -  past due on results wtih no update.

I have read these threads and about to get started with the outlined process.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=6237

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=28399

I have talked to USAA until blue in face, and they say there is nothing that I, or they, can do.  They don't care about the court order.

Where do I go from here?  Help!

-Jim

[RobertEG]

You apparently had a joint account for the HELOC.

The order in the divorce decree does not negate your continued responsibility on the joint account.

Recourse is against your ex for damages incurred based on failure to comply with the order in the divorce decree.

They can legitimately verify your responsibility for the debt, and can report delinquencies.

Recourse is to request their good-will deletion.

Perhaps a call to someone in their executive management chain might reach a sympathetic ear.....

[Anonymous]

Can't disagree with any of that.

Looks like LinkedIn to the rescue.  I have been a mainstay customer of their's for 25 years - including 20 years of life insurance, 4 car loans with perfect payment history, car insurance for 25 years, etc, etc, so hopefully they will be willing to listen.  I will post back to the list.

Another things that I thought of is to try to find out if ex's credit is getting hit by this as well.  If it is not, then the inequity is further arguement.

Thanks

[RobertEG]

Are you consulting an attorney?

What does he/she advise regarding civil action, either for damages or for forced refinance or sale of the property?

Is the property still in both names, or only hers?

The point being that continued, future damage might be as much of concern as mitigating damage that has already occured.

Personally, I would proceed based on legal advice as to potential future impact rather than a primary goal of removal of reported delinquencies.

Implied in the post is that her obligation for the HELOC was discharged under BK, but yours was not.  Is that the case?

I would advise immediate consultation with an attorney.

[Anonymous]

Robert's suggestion to contact an attorney is spot on. The ramifications of you still being attached to the loan/mortgage/HELOC/etc.. may cause financial headaches for years to come.

For example my wife had a similar divorce decree wherein her ex-husband was given the house with her being removed from financial responsibility from it and he had 36 months to refi or sell.

A few years after this in 2008 we were going thru the mortgage process on a new house and her ex still hadn't sold or refi'd so our lender said she was still showing as being on that mortgage (which technically she was but had no financial obligation to it). This was preventing her from qualifying on our prospective mortgage because she didn't make enough to cover being on two mortgages (old one ex had and new one we were applying for). In the end we had to get her attorney to provide court documents and sworn statements of the disposition of the mortgage routed up thru the underwriter's chain of command before they would approve her. Needless to say it added a couple of weeks of unnecessary delays and worry.

Long story short you want her to do that sale or refi and completely remove you from the mortgage/heloc so it doesn't continue to do future damage to your credit. If you can't get her to do it, then get an attorney who will do it. 

Good Luck!!

[Anonymous]

The HELOC was not discharged under her BK.  I think that is where "her plan" went off track.  Since it is used for a lein on the house, it couldn't be discharged.  Also, she knew that she could default on the loan without any threat to losing her home.

I have reached out to attorney's in the not so distant past.  The thing that trips them up in the discussion is that this matter was already heard in Family Court - so why would there be a new case in civil court?  The issue, in my amateur legal mind, is that she has harmed me in the past, and will continue to harm me in the future, and this past and ongoing harm - regardless of what court ordered her to take equitalbe action in selling the house, has not been complied with, and she should have.

[Stepping onto Soap Box]

Family Court - at least in AZ, is a joke.  The judge decides in the first 5 minutes who they like better, they turn a blind eye to facts, timeline, and validity of what anyone says. The standard of eveidence - for anything to be considered "evidence" is abyssmally low, and whoever stoops the lowest to "prove their point" wins.  Almost all rulings are all or nothing, and nuances of petitions are ignored.  They are completely overloaded because Maricopa County - in order to have a manageable case load - should be broken into at least 4 divisions - there are just too many people bringing cases for them to be heard for their merit.

[Soap box now stepped down from.]

[Anonymous]

So that is interesting...

I tried to apply for a mortgage about 5 years ago.  They shot me down because my child support was too high, I was still on another mortgage, and ex had stopped paying on the HELOC, and filed BK - with some other joint loans.

In retrospect - it's amazing that my app got to underwriting at all.

So - were you successful in getting an attorney to put documentation into the loan app package that showed your ex's removal from responsibility?  If you wouldn't mind, could you share more of what went into that?  (pm me if more comfortable that way).  That gives me a little hope it would work out, but like you said - getting this taken care of completely - getting the loan re-fi'ed / house sold.  The BONUS would be - if I can get a judgement, it could be attached to the sale of the house, so I can get some money back from her when she goes to sell!

-j