The son of a Broadway theater owner whose family had supported him and paid his bills was ordered to pay off the multimillion dollar mortgage or obtain an extension or refinancing of the loan on the marital residence.
Eric Nederlander whose family owns the Nederlander Theater on Broadway and whose family had allgedly lent him millions of dollars during his marriage, none of which were ever repaid, and whose family paid his bills directly from the company was told that he must cooperate in obtaining a new loan or extension of an expired mortgage loan to prevent the marital residence from being foreclosed upon during the divorce.
The usual rule during the pendency of a divorce case is that either or both clients may be ordered to pay all or part of the mortgage. Previously, there were no cases in which a party was told to pay off the whole mortgage prior to a determination as to who gets the house. Other prior cases have ordered clients to cooperate in refinancing the house or obtaining an extension of the loan. Here Mr. Nederlander was refusing to sign for an extension or refinancing so as to exert economic pressure on his wife. The Appeals court agreed with the lower court that if he will not cooperate to extend or replace the loan, then he will have to pay the ENTIRE loan balance of several million dollars.
The appeals court ordered this unusual relief because the judges believed that the husband had the means through his family's gifts or loans to make the payment and that the payment was necessary to prevent the loss of a valuable marital asset. The court used its broad discretion to prevent marital waste of an asset.
If your home is in danger of foreclosure during your divorce or if you need an order directing your spouse to contribute or pay the mortgage on the family home, please call my office to schedule a free consultation so that I can help you.