Need to remove ex-wife from deed and note.

hi,

i am looking in to refinancing my commercial property. currently the loan is in both my ex-wife and my names...as is the deed, even though in the divorce/settlement papers it states that i am sole owner and solely responsible for all of the debt. but the attorneys on both sides never did anything about the deed or the note (lots of reasons).

now i am trying to refinance, in part to obtain the buyout money (we still own our house together as co-owners) for my ex-wife so she can buy a house of her own...as well as remove her name so the commercial note is only in my own name. whew!

(we own the house outright...i just have to give her $300k by the time she turns 65, but i want her to have a house soon...so by cashing out some of the commercial property equity, i can refinance and get $300k for her...then i own the house solely (and yes, i will have her do a quit claim on that). i will also cash out about $100k for myself to use to keep fixing up my house and commercial building and upgrade my store.

so, the bank (will start with the same bank with the existing note...no, they won't simply take her name off the note, no matter how much we are all getting along...) mentioned that i needed to make sure the deed was only in my name, since i was using that for collateral. and sure enough, that was never done, and i believe the correct process (according to a nice lady at the land office who used to do title work) is to draw up a "quit claim" deed...and both myself and ex-wife sign/notarize it and file it with the court ($33.50 fee to file).

i know that my ex-wife will sign without a problem...even though there is a window of her still having her name on the note for the property she is signing away...partly because we trust each other...partly because the settlement/divorce decree clearly states i am the one responsible and owner...just that it isn't 'legal' as far as the bank is concerned.

besides, it is certainly in my ex-wife's interest to have her name off the note, and to have the $300k now instead of waiting perhaps 15 years from now.

so, do you see any problems here? can i just download a quit claim form off the internet (i found one for $11.50)?

any thoughts?

thanks.

steve

btw, we signed the property settlement almost three years ago, and were divorced a year and a half ago, and we both would like to get everything truly divided and separated properly once and for all...even though we will still act as co-parents to our 12-year-old daughter and almost-18 year old son.


and finally...as i haven't started the process yet...is it ridiculous to use a bank? i am talking about refinancing $850k existing note on a building assessed at $1.8m (and probably could sell for twice that...) and getting a new note of $1.25m ($850k payoff, $300k for ex-wife, $100k less costs of refinance for me).