What is a spousal waiver?

Hi Fisher,

Lenders require a waiver of rights on the new property you are going to purchase from your husband as the divorce case is not yet finalized.

The bank is asking for husband to waive all his rights to make any claim over the house now and in the near future. It is necessary to avoid any complications arising when the final verdict comes regarding your divorce and division of property.

Joanne

Hi wendyloufisher,

Welcome to forums.

The bank requires your husband to sign over a spousal waiver. This implies that the bank wants your husband to state in writing that he will not claim any interest in the house against which the bank will be offering you a loan.

By signing over a waiver, your husband will give up the right to demand any interest in property when you occupy it or if you sell it in future.

Thanks,
James.

If the spouse signs a spousal waiver, will he be responsible for the loan if the wife defaults on the loan?

I am planning to file for bankruptcy but am still legally married (we have benn seperated for more than 25 years). I will need my husband to sign a waiver as he owns property in a differant state that was purchased after we seperated. What should this waiver include?

Hi Mary,

By signing on the spousal waiver the spouse can only give up his rights to the property to avoid any complication in future. But this does not transfer his mortgage liability. He will not be responsible for the loan unless he signed on the mortgage note as a co-borrower or a co-signer. In case he did sign on the note, he is as much responsible for the mortgage as his wife is. If his wife defaults on the loan, the lender will come after him.

Hi alexis,

A spousal waiver generally allows a spouse to give up his/her claims to a particular property. In your case, though your husband purchased the property after you separated, it is still considered as your joint property. This is because you are still legally married. Thus, your husband is required to sign a waiver to relinquish his rights to the property. Bu not sure i be willing to give up his rights in such a way. You need to contact an attorney to know what the language on the waiver should be. This will help you avoid any confusion.

I am currently in the process of trying to get my divorce finalized, although my husband claiming that we both legally and beneficially acquired the marital property and therefore is unable to agree as to an equitable division of the property. 6 years ago, my Grandfather & i signed on the loan and the deed to the "marital property" my husband is claiming rights to, (we were married at this time also),BUT he signed a WAIVER OF SPOUSAL INTEREST because the mortgage company wanted him to sign it since he was not part of either the loan or deed.(the reason he was not was because he did not approve with his credit)My Grandfather has since passed away and the deed is only in my name>(MY aunts and uncles-my Grandfather's children also had to sign off their part of my Grandfather's will that they would have been entitled too because the house wouldve been part of his assets)-dont know if this makes any difference either.--But, what i am wondering is if this WAIVER of Spousal interest means my husband is NOT entitled to any equitable distribution of the property FOR SURE-& is this also something that is made up to the judge or is pretty set in stone usually that he cannot recieve anything out of the property's value?

Hi vegas,

As there is a "WAIVER OF SPOUSAL INTEREST", your husband will not be able to get any share of that property. You will be considered as the sole owner of the property.

Hello,

I just want to check to see if anything has changed since the last posting and imparticular in the state of Texas. I am being told one thing by my family law attorney and another by the lender. Will my wife have to sign on the deed if we are going through a divorce? I have found another home I want to buy but am unsure of my rights to keep her name off the deed.

Thank you,

Hi robert!

Welcome to forums!

If the wife is on the property deed and if you want to be the owner of the property alone, then you will have to ask your wife to sign a quitclaim deed and transfer the property to you.

As far as buying a new property is concerned, you can ask your wife to sign an inter-spousal transfer deed so that she won't be able to claim any rights to that property.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane

i'd really appreciate your advice!
my husband and i want to refinance our mortgage to a lower rate and shorter term. (5% to 3.3% and from 30 years to 15 years).
i started my own business last year and showed a loss on our income taxes last year. our broker is telling us in order to qualify for these rates, i need to sign a spousal waiver and my name would not be on the deed. we have at least $150,000 in equity on this house...would i be making a big mistake to sign this waiver? help...i'm in over my head!!

Hi DanaR,

If your name is not on the deed, then you won't be considered as one of the owners of the property. Thus, before signing on the waiver, you should consider this fact and then take the right decision.

Hi Adonis!
Thank you for your good advice! Something didn't feel right about this and I appreciate your response!

It's good to note that the forum was helpful to you!! :)

When purchasing a home in California in my name only, and my husband signs the waiver of spousal interest, and has no legal rights to the property, if a creditor or the IRS comes after him would they (the creditor or IRS) have any power over the house even though it is in only my name and he has signed the waiver?