If your family home is in both of your names and you are getting a divorce, there can be a bit of upset coming your way. How do you split this equally? One way is that the home remains in the name of one of you and that person takes out a mortgage and refinances the home as his or her own. Of course, the other party or spouse needs to pay you your fair share.
You can expect that if your spouse wants to stay in the family home, he or she will need to get a mortgage in his or her name and give you any profit from the cost of the home if you were to sell it at market value.
This mortgage obligation can tie up your personal credit and if by chance there is a default for non-payment, you and your spouse will likely be sued by the mortgage company regardless of what the divorce agreement states.
One of the first steps that a person needs to take in order to keep the home is to see if he or she can qualify on his or her own to finance this house. If so, can he or she afford to pay all the expenses for this home, like water, repairs and electricity.
It is so important to talk to an attorney who knows how the equitable split for the house will go. You need to be able to lay out all your expenses, as does your spouse, and really know how much a house costs before you or your spouse make a rash decision to keep the home. All the fine details need to be examined.
Your attorney will guide you through the process of getting what you deserve from your spouse should he or she decide to keep the house.
Source: The New York Times, “Divorce and the Shared Mortgage,” Lisa Prevost, Oct. 30, 2015