Options for the House in a Divorce

One of the most difficult aspects of a divorce settle is the house. The divorce does not automatically eliminate the real estate or pass the payments over to the other party: they must agree upon a solution and allow the court to make the decision for them. When the parties in the divorce are unable to come to a mutual agreement about the distribution of their house in the divorce, the court will usually insist they sell it and equally distribute the profits.

For those couples who are able to come to a mutual agreement about their house in a divorce, there are several options available:

* Sell the house after the divorce and evenly distribute the proceeds.
* Continue living in the house until some future agreed upon date.
* The party remaining in the house assumes a separate mortgage in his or her name in order to assume individual ownership of the home.
* The party assuming custody of the children remains in the home until the children are legal age when the home will then be sold.

While there are many different options concerning the house during a divorce, not every couple is able to make those decisions without court intervention. This is especially true in the case of a long-term marriage that has ended because the wife has lived in the house for most of her married life and is not willing to give up roots and move. Unfortunately this can create substantial tax burdens because she often gets the house instead of a share of other tax-free assets they may own jointly. Before you make any kind of a decision about the ownership of your house in a divorce, it is important to talk to the divorce lawyer about any potential tax liability the decision may create.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christy O’Connor is the founder of Real-Estate-Yogi.com, a site that provides free phone consultations with attorneys and real estate experts. Get your consultation with a divorce lawyer now.