There are so many decisions to be made and things to consider during a divorce. Financially speaking, the house you own with you soon-to-be ex may be your biggest asset. One person may want to stay in the house and one may want to move out. But what if both want to stay? These are the first questions to address. Who will be financially responsible for the mortgage and upkeep moving forward? Should you sell it? Can one spouse buy out the other? You should definitely speak to your attorney about the pros and cons of all the options. While it may seem cut and dried, it’s not, necessarily.
Here are two example of creative solutions:
- I knew a person who desperately wanted to stay in her home, but she couldn’t afford to buy out her ex-husband. They agreed that his name would come off the mortgage and the title (so that she owned it completely, but he had no financial obligation) AND that he would only pay child support and no alimony.
- I knew another divorcing couple who thought it was important for the kids to not get shuttled back and forth between mom’s and dad’s homes, so they got a small one-bedroom apartment and the parents traded off –the kids stayed in the house and either dad was there with them and mom went to the apartment or vice versa.
So there are lots of different ways to handle the house and it’s worth taking a few minutes to understand the choices. For more details, see this article.
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