Re: National Arbitration Forum

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We live in California... my mother was never one of the account holder
on the credit card, nor was she involved in the transaction of
obtaining the card. The card was actually obtained based on the
agreement my sister and step-father had which was she would be an
authorized user and the card would be used by only her and payed by
her. How does a deed to a house look like? Is it similar to a car
title? Is it possible that the deed to the house is being held by the
mortgage loan people? Again, thank you for your assitance......
On 1/27/08, -- wrote:
> 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.