Dear Penny: If I Sell the House I Bought With My Ex, Is He Entitled to Anything? He Moved Out 23 Years Ago.
I purchased a house 27 years ago with my then-fiance, now ex. He moved out 23 years ago, and I’ve been paying everything from mortgage to the upkeep of the house ever since. Is he entitled to anything if I sell my house in three years after it’s paid off? He did sign a paper when he left that he turned the keys and all responsibility over to me, and we had it notarized.
— Co-owned with a Zombie
Dear Co-owned,
It was wise to have the foresight to get a notarized, signed note when he turned over ownership to you, rather than leave it as a verbal agreement. But you’ll be in a much stronger position if you can also remove his name from the title of the property, which will probably require his involvement. If his name is on the title, you might not be able to sell the house without his consent, as well.
Speak with a lawyer in your area to determine your best course of action. They can tell you whether the note you had your ex sign could help you move forward without further involvement from him. If you’re not able to get him off the deed or come to an agreement, you could work with the lawyer to force a sale through a process called a partition action, which orders a sale and usually splits the proceeds among owners.
As long as your ex is listed as a co-owner of the house, he could claim some right to the proceeds from a sale. Your 23-year history of maintaining the property coupled with the signed letter turning it over might be useful in pre-empting those claims; a lawyer can guide you through your options.
Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® and author of YOU DON’T NEED A BUDGET. She writes Healthy Rich, a newsletter about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money.
