Re: National Arbitration Forum

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On 1/26/08, Jom-Jon wrote:
> Thank you very much for responding. I apologize for not being
> educated about this stuff, but are deeds only given if the house
> is fully paid and there's no lenders involve? From what I know,
> the house my mother and step-father lives in is not fully paid for
> and my mother is still paying for the mortgage. Does that change
> anything? Again, please bare with me...

No problem. A deed is issued to the owner even if there is also a
mortgage on the house. It is very important to your situation to
know what the form of ownership is and exactly whose name(s) are on
the deed. Ownership is determined by the deed. There are three
basic types of ownership:

1. "Tenants in common." This is a form of ownership. It will not
protect your step-father's interest in the house.

2. "Joint ownership." This is not an uncommon form of ownership for
a husband and wife and won't protect your step-father's interest in
the house from being reached by his creditors.

3. "Tenants in entirety." This form of ownership is only available
to a husband and wife and is much more likely if they acquired the
house during their marriage. If your mother and step-father own in
this form, individual debts of your step-father will not allow
creditors to reach the assets of your step-father in the house as
long as the debt is in his name only (that is your mother is not
also listed on the credit card).

One more hope you have is your state law on exempted property. Some
states will not allow creditors to attach a house that is the only
home of the owner. If you can tell me what state your step-father
lives in I will see what exemptions your state allows.