How to Get Wife's Name Off Deed-Abandonment and She Lives Overseas

[fvansan]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Pennsylvania

My wife returned to Russia two years ago. I do not know her address. We have no mortgage, but her name is on the deed. I may want to sell this home in a couple of years. How do I remove her name from the deed when there is no way to reach her to sign legal papers? Will I have to re-title the house and pay all the property transfer taxes and etc again?
Thanks.

[jk]

why do you believe you can lay claim to the title and remove your wifes mention merely because you do not know where she is? She is a title holder and you will need her to relinquish her interest to allow the house to be titled in your name only.

[fvansan]

My options? Do I go the rest of my life being imprisoned to my deed because my absent wife is no where to be found? Are you stating I have no options? I can never sell my home? There must be options for me.

[gigirle]

I hate to put it this way but legally....it's not your house, it the missing wifes. You need to consult a real estate attorney to give you a better idea of your options.

[jk]

My options? Do I go the rest of my life being imprisoned to my deed because my absent wife is no where to be found? Are you stating I have no options? I can never sell my home? There must be options for me.

Gigirlie and I apparently have two different situations in mind so;

is your name on the title at all?

If not, then what gigirlie said is your answer. You have no claim to the property other than what a court may grant you in a divorce action.

If your name is on the title as well as hers, then you do have a couple options;

1. go to Russia and find your wife and work out a deal with her.

2. file a suit to partition. A court may allow you to sell the house and put your wifes share in a protected account that you would no longer have access to. It is much more expensive than the actions you listed in your first post. It may not even be successful. I do not know how much effort a court would require you to expend in an attempt to locate your wife in this type of situation. They may simply not allow the suit to proceed at all. I would suggest speaking with a local attorney who can advise you based upon the enitre situation and all information.

[fvansan]

The deed is in both of our names.

Russia is 11 time zones long. That is one big place. Getting into Russia is possible, getting authorization to travel all around is impossible. I thought lawyers were on this site and could give me some recommodations, but, being new, I misunderstood. Thanks anyhow.

[fvansan]

By the way, I paid cash for the entire house with the proceeds from a pre-martial real estate investment sale money. Actually, she made zero financial contribution to this asset.

[MSGB]

I believe you need to speak with an attorney who specializes in domestic relations matters. This real estate matter could be resolved in a divorce matter.

An attorney may have the means to find your wife and, if not, an attorney can petition the court to make alternative service of the divorce Complaint (like publishing in a newspaper).

Did you buy the house prior to the marriage or after? If it was prior to the marriage, wife is only entitled to the increase in value from the date of marriage to the date of separation.

Good luck to you.

[aaron]

I agree that it appears that the simplest approach is to deal with this through a divorce proceeding.