Posted by NJW/FL on 7/2/09 10:35am
Msg #294377

Florida spousal state question??

Recent loan docs have wife's name on mortgage (they are separated and living in different cities)....underneath her signature line is typed her name and "Signing solely to waive marital rights". I have never seen that wording when the non-borrowing spouse is signing. As FL is a spousal state, we have the usual legals that must be signed, but never have I seen that wording. Her name is not typed in on any other documents. It has ended up that he will not sign anyway for other reasons (I was called before I made the trip,yay.) They had another notary 90 miles away that would have had the wife sign after I sent her the pkg. Any input on this??? Something I have never come across.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 7/2/09 3:28pm
Msg #294419

That's a new wrinkle on my forehead.

I have never heard of that either.

Reply by Becca_FL on 7/2/09 4:26pm
Msg #294430

I have no idea why this would be done. n/m

Reply by BrendaTx on 7/2/09 6:11pm
Msg #294443

I've seen something similar...

Spouse signing "pro forma" to acknowledge that they saw it and received notice of it but do not take issue with the transaction at hand.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/2/09 6:13pm
Msg #294444

Maybe she signed a separation agreement that included a waiver of marital rights? Just guessing here - can marital rights even be waived in FL?

Reply by PAW on 7/2/09 7:34pm
Msg #294464

The FL Constitution grants certain marital rights

in regards to real property. It's called 'homestead' rights. Under the Constitution, a spouse has guaranteed rights, regardless if their name appears 'on title' or not. The security instrument in Florida is the Mortgage, which all persons with property rights must sign, which relinquishes their rights in the case of default. Banks and other financial institutions consider the FL Mortgage a "waiver of marital rights", though I have never seen it so denoted. If the marital rights were not waived, then foreclosures could not take place. In Florida, foreclosures are judicial. One reason is because of the Constitutional rights of spouses in real property ownership.

Reply by NJW/FL on 7/2/09 8:17pm
Msg #294474

Re: The FL Constitution grants certain marital rights

PAW .....I knew they have the right to live there until they die and thought that was the main reason they had to sign. I never knew that they were actually relinquishing their rights in case of default. Thanks so much for that info, always nice to learn something new.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 7/3/09 5:33am
Msg #294516

same/similar verbiage is contained w/in mtg...

I've seen 'waiving' verbiage placed on a separate document, and also have seen it hand-typed at the end of the mtg - I certainly don't read every version of mtgs, but whenever I've seen this done I'll read the mtg out of curiosity, and the 'waiving' verbiage IS in there and I've never seen it NOT in there.

I figure this redundant but more obvious 'waiving' stuff is more for the borrower's than anyone else. The language within the mtg is pretty clear, and it's helpful to KNOW that it is in there, for those times you might have a 'waiving' spouse who is hesitant to sign for fear of being liable for the Note. Every now and then I get that situation where a couple is married, but one spouse does NOT want their credit linked to the other person. (They fear the mtgor is going to end up in default.)

The verbiage from a mtg I happen to have here - under the heading "Joint & Several Liability....":

"...However, any Borrower who co-signs this Security Instrument but does not execute the Note (a "co-signer": (a) is co-signing this Security Instrument only to mortgage, grant and convey the co-signer's interest in the Property under the terms of this Security Instrument; (b) is not personally obligated to pay the sums secured by this Security Instrument;..."

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 7/3/09 5:35am
Msg #294517

Ha! Smiley-face was NOT part of the language =) n/m