Q. I got divorced about two years ago but my wife's name is still on the title to our house. She agreed to help me make the payments until our youngest gets out of school in May. When the time comes, what do I have to do get full ownership of the house? Would I have to refinance or what?

A.You'll have to start by getting your ex-wife's name off the title. We don't know what is stated in your divorce decree, but often the home is split 50/50 which could require you to pay her for her half of the equity.

If your ex has no rights to the house, you'll need a court order stating that or a release signed by her giving up all rights to the home. You'll almost certainly need a real estate attorney to guide you through this.

Then you'll have to qualify for a new loan based on just your income, credit score and debt load.

You can't just take her name off the existing mortgage because the lender made the loan based on both of your incomes and credit scores. It won't allow either of you to just walk away from that debt, divorce or not.

The current mortgage company won't release the title, allowing you to drop your former wife's name, until it's been fully repaid.