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Haven't posted in a long time but am a constant lurker here . Long story short, after 4 years of motions to compel for discovery, STBXH has been found out to have forged my name on loan documents for a rental property we owned together. He refused to disclose any info (rents, leases, payments, etc.) that my attorney requested to move our divorce along and now my attorney has the actual loan docs with my forged signature on it!

And the kicker to this? He's in law enforcement....in fact, is a commander. I'm just floored that he is this stupid. It's a felony to forge signatures on a mortgage.

So my question is, has anyone else had this happen and how did you handle it? Did you press charges on the person who forged your signature? And what was the outcome of that?

My attorney, bless her heart, said (and I quote) "You have his balls over a barrel"

I don't have experience with this but my first thought is could you use it to your advantage in the settlement?

"Using this info to your advantage" is frowned upon by the legal community. It is known as coercion. Google the penalties for coercion.

If your attorney is a pitbull, how it can be used is in a deposition.

depose the POS, and then your attorney can ask if he ever forged your name to a loan document and put the document in front of his attorney so he can see it. This should provoke his attorney to urge him to settle. Especially if the document was sent via US mail, in which case it is a felony. Your attorney can ask him if he is aware of the consequences to someone in law enforcement who commits a felony. Especially as regards their pension. (Keep that in mind because I assume you are going after a portion of his pension).

If you attorney doesn't want to play hardball, find someone who does.

I haven't dealt with this either (thank goodness).

However, the forgery on top of the infidelity is just insult on top of injury. Take a hammer to those balls over the barrel!!

t/j - alphakitte,

I agree with you this information is not as a coercion but as a mechanism during the process.

KLinNoCA should use this to her advantage in the legal process (based on legal advice from lawyer)rather than lashing out immediately based on STBXWH job terminated/investigated.

Also, you can put in a call to the lender who holds the mortgage with the fraudulent signatures. They will want to know this. Clear this with your attorney first.

Does that mean you are on the loan? Or the title? or both? You definitely need to get off that--if he defaulted they would come after you.

Which means he'll have to refinance. Which means he may not be able to actually get another mortgage on it himself. Which means he'd have to sell it. And if he's underwater on it.....

Absolutely do not take any deal which does not get your names OFF those documents (either through reporting it as fraud or a refinance by him). And not something that says--he has to refinance within a year etc etc.

[This message edited by I think I can at 4:05 PM, August 30th (Friday)]

Tuck the info away as your ace in the hole, but find out your state's statute of limitations for taking legal action, if it comes to that.

I think, IMHO, that it comes down to what you intended to do with that property in the settlement. Are you fighting for it? Is he going to keep it? Is it going to be sold and the proceeds split? That would determine your next step, but keep the ultimate legal coup (forgery) tucked away for possible future use. Don't tip your hand and let him squirm and sweat wondering what you are going to do now that he knows that YOU know.

Not a rental property but my exH forged my signature on a home equity loan - $150K - about two weeks before we separated. My lawyer said in my county the judge could rule that I wss responsible for anything from half to none of it. I ended up offering to pay a third minus $5K to pay my legal fees for all the back and forth on it.

As a sad aside, my family were all for giving him another chance after the affair but somehow the financial infidelity they thought was unforgivable.

This is VERY tricky. There are two important considerations you need to take into account as you use this to your advantage:

1. You are not allowed to threaten criminal prosecution or other serious third party ramifications in exchange for pecuniary gain in your negotiations. In other words, if you need to report him, report him. Do not say "I will report you unless..." Such conduct would be extortion.

2. Unless you fall into narrow categories, you are not obligated to report him. Ask your attorney. This is important since it might not be in the best interests of you and your family for him to lose his job and/or go to jail.

The bottom line is that you and your attorney can probably gain an advantage in the negotiations without crossing the line into extortion. Good luck.

Thank you all for your input! Lots to learn from your advice and I appreciate it!

The rental house was lost in foreclosure--he failed to tell me and my attorney this after numerous discovery requests during the foreclosure process with the bank. I was on title but not the mortgage because I was a SAHM and at the time of the loan the bank put him as guarantor and me on title. When I attempted to get info on the mortgage, I was cut off by Coldwell Banker because he was the loan holder and not me. Now that all the documents are accounted for and I see that in 2010 he forged my name on a refi/loan mod, I am questioning my options at this point. The obvious would be to file criminal charges, however my income would be reduced. So I am at a crossroads.....

Similar- One month before dday FT took line of credit on house. I never saw the money. But cleaning out the office , I found the orginal contract and FT wrote several times on contract as "unmarried male". This was 1 month before dday ! I wrote and provided and a copy of the front page EVERY time I updated the financials and filed with court.

It took several filings before his , not so bright attorney, caught it.

They knew what I knew and yes used the info every chance I had. IDIOT FT !

They were much more agreeable to settle with me and had no idea when I would report to bank.

At the end I didn't do anything because house was sold and he made sure I got my settlement without issue.

Gma