A marital home is often one of the biggest assets that spouses must address during divorce. If you are divorcing, this piece of property can easily become a source of contention, especially if you and your ex have opposing ideas of what should happen to it.
If you want to keep your marital home, there are certain factors you should consider. Delving into the following considerations may help you to determine if this is a viable option for your circumstances.
Offset in property division
Because the home is typically a high-value asset, it may need to be offset by other assets or debts. This could mean you don’t walk away with as many of the smaller assets or that you have to take on a bigger debt load to balance out the property division settlement. Alternatively, you may have to buy out your ex’s share of equity in the home.
Costs of keeping the home
The costs of keeping the home are usually a primary consideration. If there’s still a mortgage, you’ll likely need to refinance the home. You’ll need to find out if this is possible before you decide that you want to keep it. You also have to think about other expenses, such as insurance and property taxes.
Efforts in keeping the home up
It takes considerable work to keep up a home. You must ensure that you can either take care of those tasks yourself or that you’ll be able to pay someone to do it for you. Failing to keep up with maintenance could result in the value of the home going down, which could be a problem if you decide to sell it in the future.
The property division process is often one of the more complex undertakings that spouses must navigate when divorcing. Because of this, it may behoove you to work with a legal representative who can help you evaluate the options you have available and determine how to move forward in ways that facilitate your interests.