If You’re Getting Divorced. How to Deal with the House?

First we need to understand how divorce courts calculate property division in divorce cases. Basically there are two different calculations that often overlap:

Equitable Distribution – which means, “fair” distribution and Community Property allocation rules.

In most states of the United States divorce laws require judges to equally divide marital assets and liabilities between divorcees, regardless of who has ownership of each asset or liability. Usually judges will try to preserve the status quo (the way things were) during the divorce process, but this is not required legally. This is called equitable distribution law. As a result, state divorce laws require divorcing spouses to equitably distribute marital property without regard to fault in divorce proceedings resulting from divorce complaints .

What does that mean? It basically means that even if someone was unfaithful in the marriage it won’t affect how divorce courts distribute assets. It doesn’t matter if you were a cheating spouse or not, this fact will not be taken into account when divorce courts divide divorce property between divorcing spouses.

Property assets are classified as either pre-marital property or marital property. Pre-marital property is any asset that was owned by one divorcees before the marriage. This can be property that was gifted to you, or an inheritance for example.

As divorce law treats property acquired before marriage separate from marital property, this means that the divorce courts do not have to equally divide pre-marital assets between divorcing spouses. Pre-marital assets are not subject to divorce property division, which means you can keep them for yourself after divorce proceedings.

Property acquired during marriage is called marital property and it is usually divided equally between divorcing spouses unless there are some compelling reasons that explain why your divorce courts should deviate from the 50/50 rule. Divorce law varies from state to state and it is important that you consult a professional before you make any decision.

In most states, marital property includes all assets and liabilities acquired during the marriage, regardless of which spouse owns or controls the asset.

So, if you and your spouse purchased a house together while married, that house would be considered marital property and would be subject to divorce property division.

If you and your former spouse are both legally entitled to a portion of your marital property, the easiest way to divide it up is to sell your house. If your relationship came to an end on bad terms, it may be difficult to co-own a home with your ex-spouse.

If you all decide one spouse should keep the house, then divorce proceedings will be a lot easier for both of you. One spouse has a place to live and the other can search for a new place. This can be really beneficial if you have kids and want to make sure their lives are disrupted as little as possible.

One consequence of this decision is figuring out which spouse gets to keep the house can trigger a variety of arguments about the divorce process. Sometimes it’s best to have a neutral third party help you with this, especially if there are kids involved.

You might decide it’s best for both divorcees to sell the house. Another option is for one of you to buy out your former spouse’s share in the property or sell it on the market and split proceeds. Either option will have a lot consequences, here you are talking about a process that can take months to complete, not just by listing the house but by preparing it for the sale, hiring a real estate agent, dealing with repairs, you know this is already a complicated process and if you are planing on doing it with your partner, it may not be the best and easiest project you both would like to get into.

Read More:
Sell Your House As Is
Selling to An Investor vs Listing with a Real Estate Agent

Another option is to sell the house directly to an investor who will avoid take out all the hassle of repairs and dealing with agents, most important is that an Investor will be able to close in your timeframe not months comparing to sell it on the Market.

Another option is to sell the house directly to an investor who will avoid take out all the hassle of repairs and dealing with agents, most important is that an Investor will be able to close in your timeframe not months comparing to sell it on the Market.