Can You Remove Someone From a Deed Without Their Knowledge?

You can remove someone from a deed without their knowledge by illegally forging their signature or procuring their signature through fraud. But any deed arising from a forgery or fraud is void and can be easily set aside by a court. You cannot legally remove someone from a deed without their knowledge and have it stay on record for a long time.

Most counties now have a program where you get notified if a change has been made to your deed, so if someone tries to remove you from your deed without your knowledge, you will receive a notice through the mail informing you of the change.

In exceptional circumstances, a person can be removed from a deed without his consent, typically through a court order. Below is a list of situations where someone can be removed from a deed without his consent. In all instances, a court order is required except for seizure due to non-payment of taxes. Still, the owner has the right to be notified of the legal proceedings and to defend his case before the court or the Internal Revenue Service:

• Foreclosure
• Partition
• Seizure by the government for non-payment of taxes
• Criminal restitution or forfeiture
• Eminent domain

If you receive a notice on any of the above legal proceedings, immediately consult with an attorney, like us, to discuss your options in preserving your real estate.

If you are asking can you remove someone from a deed without their knowledge, you are possibly dealing with a situation that requires an attorney. We at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].

Foreclosure

Foreclosure is a legal proceeding initiated by a lender to recover a debt of a borrower who has defaulted from the loan through the sale of the mortgaged property. Default normally occurs when the borrower fails to pay a specific number of monthly payments.

For example, if you buy an apartment in New York with a loan, the bank will lend you the money but will require you to secure the debt with the apartment through a mortgage. If you fail to make the monthly payments, you will be considered in default. The bank can initiate foreclosure proceedings with the court, and you will be notified of this proceeding. If you still fail to pay despite notice, the court can issue an order foreclosing your property, and deeding your property to the bank due to your non-payment. In this case, you are removed from a deed without your consent.

There are several defenses one can raise in a foreclosure proceeding such as lack of standing to sue, improper service of summons and complaint, partial or full payment, incorrect procedure observed for the 90-day pre-foreclosure notice, homeowner’s mental disability or incompetence, or an illegal mortgage loan due to unfair mortgage loan terms, to name a few. Immediately consult with an attorney like us as soon as you receive any type of breach letter or pre-foreclosure notice so you can defend your property rights at the soonest possible time.

Partition

Partition of property occurs when two or more people own the same property, and one of them does not wish to own the property together anymore. The dissatisfied co-owner files a lawsuit to compel the sale of the property and divide the proceeds. This usually happens when a property is left as an inheritance to more than one person or when the co-owners are unmarried domestic partners who decided to buy property together. When one co-owner does not want to co-own the property anymore, he files a partition lawsuit against the other co-owner/s. When the court grants the partition lawsuit, the court can force the sale of the property and the co-owners can be removed from a deed without their consent.

If you want to stop partition or would like to partition the property, consult us for your remedies and solutions.

Seizure by the government for non-payment of taxes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can seize real property, if it is a second home or similar, without a court order. The IRS cannot seize real property without a court order if it is the taxpayer’s primary residence. Normally, the IRS gives several notices and opportunities for the taxpayer to pay before real property is seized. Once seized, the IRS will sell the taxpayer’s interest in the property and apply the proceeds to the tax debt. In this case, the owner can be removed from a deed without his consent when the IRS forces the sale of the property to pay for tax debt.

There are several ways to resolve the taxpayer’s debt with the IRS in order to avoid seizure of real estate or to return the seized property back to the taxpayer, such as entering into an installment agreement or offer in compromise. There is also an appeals process, in case the IRS denies the request to return the seized property back to the taxpayer. In case you receive an assessment notice from the IRS, immediately consult an attorney like us in order to ensure that the tax debt is resolved without incurring additional penalties and interests.

Criminal restitution or civil forfeiture

There is criminal forfeiture when the government confiscates the assets of those who have been convicted of a crime. These assets must have been directly or indirectly obtained as a result of the crime. Civil forfeiture, on the other hand, requires no criminal conviction and seizes assets that are suspected of being connected to criminal activity. Through criminal or civil forfeiture, someone can be removed from a deed without his consent.

However, the power to seize assets through civil or criminal forfeiture can be abused. For this reason, if this has happened to you, consult us to know your options. You have several remedies especially in cases of civil forfeiture when there has been no criminal conviction yet.

Eminent domain

Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for public use upon payment of just compensation. If the private property owner refuses to sell his property to the government, the government can institute a complaint in condemnation with the court. The court will decide whether the property is being taken for public use and will ascertain the proper amount of just compensation. In this case, the court can remove the owner from a deed without his consent when the court decides that there is a reason for expropriation and there is payment of just compensation.

As provided in the above instances, removal of an owner’s name from a deed without his consent is generally not allowed, unless there is a court order or in cases of exceptional circumstances. It is possible that you fall under any of the exceptional circumstances and have received notices of legal proceedings to remove your name from a deed or take your property interest.

If you are asking can you remove someone from a deed without their knowledge, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, are here for you. We have offices in New York City, Brooklyn, NY, and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].