some information by considering the actual value of the home and the total amount owed to reinstate and to payoff the mortgage (these sums are different than your principal balance owed). Then, this information will help you decide whether you want to focus on “retention” or “liquidation.” Retention options focus on paying the loan current and keeping the home. Liquidation options focus on selling the home and paying off the debt.

Your next step is to contact your mortgage lender to discuss y the options available to prevent a foreclosure. Sometimes, mortgage lenders offer no options other than a full reinstatement to bring the loan current or a full payoff of the entire debt. However, some lenders are willing to explore options that would allow you to cure the default. These options can include, but are not limited to: forbearance plans, repayment agreements, and loan modifications.

In some cases, liquidation of the home is the only option. If you have a desirable home with more equity than debt, you can probably sell the home and payoff the loan. If that cannot happen, though, your mortgage lender might be willing to work with you on liquidation options. These options can include, but are not limited to:  a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a short sale, or a consent to judgment with a deficiency waiver (or, forgiveness of the debt owed in exchanging for allowing the home’s foreclosure).

Facing foreclosure during a divorce can be very challenging. It is important to work quickly with your lender to explore viable options. And, if you are uncomfortable, find counsel with experience in both divorce law and foreclosure law, like our firm. If you are ready to move forward with that process, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.

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Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purposes only. This information was current as of the date above. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.

First, spouses must transfer title to the home, which often involves retaining counsel. But, many forget that the home’s mortgage loan should be refinanced by the party retaining the  home (if the final order calls for it, and it should). This is often difficult (or even, impossible) to accomplish when one spouse is trying to qualify for a mortgage on their own. 

Ex-spouses are usually quick to deed the property over to the spouse who is receiving it, and their lawyer usually handles the deed’s preparation and recording. However, the receiving party then applies for a home loan, only to find they do not qualify. Or, if they do qualify, the new loan comes with a much higher payment because the bank is taking on more risk with only one obligor. So, the ex-spouse never actually follows through with the refinance - they just contact the mortgage company and ensure all mail goes to their address. Then, payments to the mortgage company continue, and no one knows that this issue is still lurking.

Fast forward a year or two. The ex-spouse in the home suffers an unexpected financial expense or a layoff from work. They miss a few mortgage payments, the mortgage loan is called due, and collection letters start going out -- all to the party in the home, with you knowing nothing of the issue. Up next, a foreclosure is filed. You thought you were free of the mortgage until you were served with the foreclosure complaint seeking a six-figure judgment against you. What happened?

When you signed the note and mortgage, you made a promise to repay a debt to the mortgage lender. So, absent paying off that loan or reaching a new agreement with your mortgage lender, your mortgage lender is entitled to expect you to repay the debt - with no consideration for the private agreement reached between you and your spouse in a divorce. In fact, your divorce decree is merely an order in place against your ex-spouse. The company that owns your mortgage is under no obligation to follow that court order, since they were not party to the case and had no opportunity to protect their interest in your case. Therefore, your divorce order provides you no protection against foreclosure.

The time to fix this issue is not when you receive the foreclosure complaint, but to tackle this issue immediately after divorce by ensuring your former spouse refinances the loan. After divorce, you should first execute and record the deed called for in your decree; that way, there will be no hurdles to your ex-spouse refinancing the mortgage loan. Next, your decree should state a specific time frame to complete, not start, the refinancing process. As soon as that time frame runs, you should obtain paperwork that evidences your original loan’s payoff or send a demand letter to your ex-spouse reminding them of their obligations. If the ex-spouse does not complete the refinancing,  you should take immediate action by seeking relief from the court. And, if your ex-spouse simply cannot qualify for a loan, the property should immediately be sold.

Taking action quickly to resolve your ex-spouse’s failure to refinance the mortgage loan is of critical importance to finalizing your divorce issues and moving forward with your life. If you are ready to move forward with that process, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.

This is ADVERTISING MATERIAL ONLY.
Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purposes only. This information was current as of the date above. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney-client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.

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The marital home’s benefits are easy to identify. The home might provide some comfort to school-age children during and after the difficult divorce process. The home feels comfortable, familiar, and safe. Receiving the marital home in a divorce can be a sign of success for some litigants. Being the party that stays in the home also avoids the dreaded moving hassles. And, it provides consistency for you when things are changing rapidly.

Keeping the marital home is not always in your best interests, though. You likely do not need the same amount of space after a divorce as you did before divorce -- you will have fewer people living there as often, fewer personal items to store in the home, and you will probably have less time running a home as a single parent. Further, statistically speaking, it is also less likely that you can afford to maintain the home. When considering keeping the home, be sure to factor in mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, dues, house and yard maintenance, and improvements on the large home.

It might not be best for your spouse to keep the home either. If the spouse fails to refinance the mortgage, you could find yourself embroiled in foreclosure with your spouse years after divorce.

For these reasons, it is important to at least consider other options for where you call home. For many, a clean break from the marital home and all the memories it carries is a good thing. Couple that with the benefits of renting a smaller home for a year while you try out a new budget, a new family structure, and new interests. You can spend that year getting accustomed to your new “normal” and thinking about where the next step in your life should be taken; instead of being cornered into your marital home and everything that comes with it.

Our firm generally recommends selling the marital home if the option exists. That said, everyone’s circumstances and needs are different, so there is no blanket advice. A thorough review of your needs and demands, the professionally appraised value of the home in comparison to mortgage debt, and the tax consequences that might face you all must be considered before making this complex decision. If you are ready to move forward with securing help for this analysis, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.

This is ADVERTISING MATERIAL ONLY.
Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purposes only. This information was current as of the date above. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney-client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.

Settlement is great, when it works in your favor. But sometimes settlement requires concessions that simply should not be made. In those cases, the benefits of trial should be carefully discussed and considered..

Those without sufficient knowledge about family law believe that concessions only include issues related to giving up assets you might be entitled to, taking on responsibility for debts you are not liable for, or accepting less control over time and decisions for your children than you ought to have. But the decision to try an issue, rather than settle it also include lesser considered issues.

​Some of these issues are:

- Delay. Compromise of an issue helps resolve it now. Trials can take time because parties will want to conduct discovery and properly prepare their case for trial. In fact, some cases also require the use of experts on whom discovery must be sought and investigations performed; and then counter-experts retained. The process can take substantially longer than simply reaching a resolution between parties.

- Cost. Compromise of an issue helps avoid the attorney fees that trials require. 

- Control. Compromise of an issue helps resolve it in a way you find acceptable. 

- Disclosure. Compromise can avoid trial where your spouse plans to use information learned during the marriage against you in some way that casts you in a bad light - a light you wish to avoid.

- Continued relationship. Compromise of an issue helps avoid a trial where you might be forced to put on evidence that paints your spouse in a very poor light - knowing you will be facing this spouse when dropping of your children every week for a decade or more to come.

When considering all of these factors, among others, sometimes a compromise through settlement makes good sense. When it does not, though, it is important to be prepared to understand the issues above and move forward with trial. If you are ready to move forward with that process, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.

This is ADVERTISING MATERIAL ONLY.
Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purposes only. This information was current as of the date above. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.

Maintaining control over the terms of your marriage’s termination requires you and your spouse reach an agreement on all issues you want control over. This is because courts are routinely open to terminating a marriage on reasonable terms agreed to by the parties; but all other issues must be tried to the court’s assigned judge. The judge then reviews the facts and the law, and renders a decision that resolves the area of disagreement. Obviously, when the judge determines how the contested issue is managed, the judge controls the case instead of the parties.
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The issues related to your marriage termination that must be decided include how marital assets are divided - including cars, homes, furniture, retirement accounts, and any other assets you might have; how the marital debts are divided; whether one parent will have sole custody with guideline visitation or whether there will be shared parenting; and any other issues present in your marriage. It is possible, and common, for married couples to agree on some issues and not all. Though, some couples agree on all issues, and others on no issues at all.

In summary, then:
If you reach no agreements with your spouse - you have the least control
If you reach some agreements with your spouse - you have partial control.
And, if you can fully resolve your issues with your spouse - you can very likely maintain nearly full control.

If you are able to reach a complete resolution with your spouse on how all marital issues are terminated, then you maintain nearly full control over the process. WIthout question, this is the best scenario for our clients because it allows the parties to choose their own outcome, resolves the case sooner when compared to a lengthy trial process, and is less expensive for the parties who work to resolve their differences rather than pay lawyers to litigate the issues on their behalf.

You should consider maintaining as much control over their case as possible, while maintaining a clear understanding of trial risks and costs in contrast to the concessions being considered to reach an agreement. If you are ready to move forward with the process, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.

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Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purpose only. This information was current as of July of 2022. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for your hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.

Divorce cases and post-divorce issues are complicated and emotional experiences. But, like all cases, the issues within your case are resolved in one of two straightforward ways: through a settlement between the parties or litigation over the issues. In a divorce, litigation nearly always involves a trial.

The big question during post-filing and pretrial discussions is always whether the parties should choose trial or settlement.

Settlement is great, when it works in your favor. But sometimes settlement requires concessions that simply should not be made. In those cases, the benefits of trial should be carefully discussed and considered.

Those without sufficient knowledge about family law believe that concessions only include issues related to giving up assets you might be entitled to, taking on responsibility for debts you are not liable for, or accepting less control over time and decisions for your children than you ought to have. But the decision to try an issue, rather than settle it also include lesser considered issues. Some of these issues are:

• Delay. Compromise of an issue helps resolve it now. Trials can take time because parties will want to conduct discovery and properly prepare their case for trial. In fact, some cases also require the use of experts on whom discovery must be sought and investigations performed; and then counter-experts retained. The process can take substantially longer than simply reaching a resolution between parties.
• Cost. Compromise of an issue helps avoid the attorney fees that trials require.
• Control. Compromise of an issue helps resolve it in a way you find acceptable.
• Disclosure. Compromise can avoid trial where your spouse plans to use information learned during the marriage against you in some way that casts you in a bad light – a light you wish to avoid.
• Continued relationship. Compromise of an issue helps avoid a trial where you might be forced to put on evidence that paints your spouse in a very poor light – knowing you will be facing this spouse when dropping of your children every week for a decade or more to come.

When considering all of these factors, among others, sometimes a compromise through settlement makes good sense. When it does not, though, it is important to be prepared to understand the issues above and move forward with trial.

The divorce process in Ohio is controlled, in large part, by Ohio statute. Ohio statute also sets forth the residency requirements that dictate when Ohio can legally hear your divorce complaint.

A divorce can be resolved by agreement between the parties. However, if parties are unable to reach an agreement by themselves, they can try the their unresolved issue or issues to the court. The court will then issue an order that resolves the dispute between the parties and finalizes the divorce.

There are several ways spouses might be able to separate in Ohio. Generally speaking, though, spouses turn to one of two ways to terminate their marriage: A divorce or a dissolution. See our blog posting on Ways to Legally Terminate your Marriage for additional information on the other ways to terminate a marriage..

Four issues are addressed in most divorces. First, and the issue that must be resolved in all cases, is division of marital property -- all marital assets and marital debts. Next, many marriages involve children, which adds two other broad issues for resolution: parenting time and child support. And, finally,spousal support must be addressed when terminating a marriage.

Spouses must be thorough in addressing their issues during divorce to ensure everything is properly dealt with. Otherwise, the divorce case may need to be re-opened and begun again to address the missed issue or issues. Although, sometimes, missing an issue forever bars it from reconsideration by the court, which can have serious harm to the spouse.

If you are ready to move forward with considering the divorce process, we ask you to consider using our services. You can reach us through the “Contact” link above.


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Disclaimer: All articles and blog posts are for informational purposes only. This information was current as of the date above. The information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for hiring an attorney to review your specific legal issue. By reading this blog site you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and The Fogelman Law Firm LLC. To form an attorney client relationship, you must contact us, appear for a consultation, and sign a retention agreement before this firm will represent you.