A few months ago one of my clients, Sherlock, was buying a condo for cash. The owners, Dick Tracy and Joan, had gotten a divorce a year earlier and the condo was awarded to Dick. Dick and Sherlock signed the contract and escrow was opened. Unfortunately Dick’s divorce attorney did not prepare a deed transferring the condo into Dick’s name as his sole and separate property. Joan should have signed the deed when the divorce was finalized. Then the attorney should have had it recorded in the Maricopa County recorder’s office. Because this did not happen Joan’s signature was required on the deed. As often happens when people get divorced, Joan decided to be uncooperative. She refused to sign even though the divorce had been finalized for months and the divorce decree clearly stated Dick owned the condo.
Luckily Sherlock was not in a hurry so he waited patiently (well somewhat impatiently) for the issue to be resolved. Eventually another attorney had to step in to convince Joan that she was violating the terms of the divorce decree by withholding her signature. A mere 120 days later Sherlock was the proud owner of the condo.
The moral of the story is if you are getting divorced be sure any property with paperwork attached to the ownership like real estate is signed and recorded immediately when the divorce is finalized. Do this while everyone is in agreement and before one of the parties has a chance to change his or her mind.