This is only my opinion, but I have only very limited confidence in the non-statutory abatement.
I told you earlier I had some success with one, but I need to qualify. The abatement, at least the one I used, was in a civil case in which a plaintiff was suing for alleged property damages. The plaintiff sued a fictitious party, with a name in all uppercase letters. My abatement gave notice that I was not that person, and invited the plaintiff, if plaintiff wanted a remedy from me, to sue me as a proper party.
This is the essense of all abatements I have seen. The merits of the case were never discussed. The point was to assure the suit was brought between proper parties, so that all natural rights might be better preserved.
The abatement is not a silver bullet. And it is not appropriate in all cases.
Even in my case, after I had done notices of fault and default, the court proceeded anyway and held a hearing for summary default. I appeared at the hearing as a minister for public justice, to give notice I had never been joined to the proceeding.
I presented my abatement package, which I had certified by affidavit, into evidence. The judge looked it over, and said he couldn't recognize it as a court document, since the "county court" listed on its face did not exist. I told the judge I wasn't asking him to recognize the court. I said the abatement was evidence that I had given plaintiff notice they had not sued the proper party, and that the notices of fault and default proved plaintiff had been given plenty of opportunity to cure their defect.
The judge's jaw dropped to his chest. I could tell I had given him the right answer, and he had not expected it. He told "the room" that the parties would be given thirty days in which to file any addtional papers, at which point he would make a decision. He fled the room.
The plaintiffs asked their attorney "What the hell just happened?" The attorney said he had no idea. They had expected a default judgment. About forty days later I received a letter from a judge two counties away, giving his "opinion" that the defendant had never been properly joined to the case, and recommending the case be dismissed without prejudice. "Without prejudice" means the plaintiffs are able to bring suit again if they wish.
This was the end of it. The plaintiffs had already paid a year's attorney expenses and had nothing to show for it, so they gave up.
Please notice this is not exactly the same thing as saying "the abatement worked."
In your case it seems you are dealing with a mortgage which [hubby] did, in fact, sign. You've mentioned that the original mortgagee (bank) sold the loan to a third-party, and it is the third-party who is attempting a foreclosure. Do I have that right?
Other members may have some input on this, and I invite discussion, but I personally don't think an abatement is going to be much of a remedy in this situation. That is
not to say I think you are without remedies.
Please check out this book:
http://www.infowarsshop.com/Clouded-Titles_p_669.html
I have not personally read it yet, though I hope to read it someday. I listened to an interview with the author on one of Alex Jones' programs. The subject matter deals with exactly this issue, and allegedy offers both insight and potential remedies.
The abatement process will put you in the position of claiming you are a different person than you claimed to be at the time you signed the mortgage. That may be true, but is your lifestyle really that of a free, unaligned man? Or are you subject to contracts of social security, licenses, permits, etc.? Most people these days are too encumbered by such contracts to withstand close scrutiny in an abatement process.
The above book is said to point out many shortcuts and illegalities practiced by the banks, which leave them without proper standing to bring foreclosure suits. One of these is failure to file assignments with the county recorder. Without having filed the assignment, the new bank [holder in due course] has no standing within the courts of that county. However most judges will allow it anyway, unless the issue is properly raised by the defendant.
This is just one of many remedies you may find within that book.
Side note: If any Forum readers were to feel called to send a copy of
Clouded Titles to the Lawful Path, I would definitely read it and post a detailed review.