How To Deal With The Marital Home In A Divorce

Since I began this week with a joke about how to deal with a marital home in a divorce, I thought that maybe this next post should focus on some real, practical tips for you to discuss about this topic with your own Georgia divorce lawyer.

First of all, this discussion assumes that we are referring to marital property; that is, a home acquired during the marriage and not as a result of an inheritance by one of the parties in the divorce.

Second, here are a couple of practical tips to consider: If the marital home is in both names, but one of you wants to keep it, then it is important that you consider how to get it out of the other party's name. In other words, it generally would be unfair, if one party is going to keep the home, for the other party to have their credit tied up over the next 20 or so years until the mortgage is paid off. Therefore, you should discuss with your divorce attorney the idea of including in a settlement agreement, (or arguing before a judge), a provision requiring the party who is keeping the house to refinance, (and get the mortgage/property out of the other side's name), within a specified period of time. Also, while that party is refinancing, they may also be able to borrow money to cover the other party's share of any equity, if that is appropriate. Finally, you should also discuss with your own divorce lawyer the idea that, if the other party does not, or cannot, refinance within the specified time, then the house probably must be listed and sold.

Again, every divorce is different. So, please discuss all these issues about equitable division of marital property with your own divorce lawyer.

I hope this post gave you some good practical information and tips! But I think we will both agree that it wasn't as funny as the divorce "joke of the day!" Have a nice weekend!

Divorce Checklist: Planning For A Divorce

A couple of posts ago, I began this "series" called a "Divorce Checklist: Planning For A Divorce."  We gave you a couple of tips to consider when planning for a divorce.  Here is another practical tip concerning how to dispose of the marital home for you to discuss with your divorce attorney, as you plan for your divorce from your worthless spouse, "Sluggo!"

3. PLAN HOW TO DEAL WITH OR DISPOSE OF THE MARITAL HOME:

Let's assume that you and your spouse own a home together.  In other words, both you and your spouse are "on the hook" to the bank for the mortgage.  The common issue is:  How do you dispose of a marital home when faced with the prospect of a divorce.  There are several ideas for you to discuss with your own divorce lawyer.  For example, if you want to keep the marital home, you should evaluate whether or not you can afford the payments and upkeep, (even when factoring in alimony and/or child support you should receive).  Also, even if you want to keep the house, and kick Sluggo out, you will also need to consider whether or not you are able to refinance the home mortgage into your own name.  In other words, as we have discussed before, the bank doesn't care whether you and Sluggo stay married or get a divorce.  All they care about is that they presently have BOTH of you on the hook for the mortgage.  And they aren't likely to let one of you simply walk away! Therefore, in order to truly get rid of Sluggo, but keep the house, you will need to consider refinancing the house into your own name.  If you can't qualify for a refinance, then you might consider asking a qualifying parent to co-sign with you.  In the alternative, if neither you nor Sluggo want or can't afford the house, then you should discuss the idea with your divorce attorney of selling the house and how to equitably divide the sale proceeds.

Every divorce is different.  Every divorce presents special challenges.  Some of these marital home scenarios might not apply in your divorce case.  Therefore, it is important to emphasize that you should always discuss all the issues concerning how to dispose of the marital home with your own divorce attorney.  Of course, how to properly deal with good ole' "Sluggo" is another important topic of discussion, too!

Divorce and Property Division: How To Dispose of the Marital Home

Today, as an Augusta, Georgia divorce lawyer, I want to talk a little bit about some of the practical points to consider when dealing with the disposition of a marital home in a divorce. As you can see, I chose a photograph of the White House to illustrate this post! Fortunately, for the President, his marriage appears to be pretty solid!  But even if his marriage hit the rocks, at least he wouldn't have to worry about how to deal with the disposition of this "marital home!"

But maybe you aren't so fortunate.  Perhaps you are going through a divorce and you must confront the question of what to do about the marital home, especially since there is no way that you and your worthless spouse, "Sluggo," can continue to live under the same roof!  What should you do?

Laying aside some of the obvious questions, such as how to decide who should get the marital home, and how do you sell a house in today's frigid housing market, here are a couple of other important points for you to consider and to raise with your own divorce attorney:

1.  IF SLUGGO WANTS TO KEEP THE HOUSE:  Let's assume that the home mortgage is in both of your names.  Even if your spouse wants to keep the house, and even if you are willing to let him do so, it is important that you make sure the settlement agreement provides that he has a deadline within which to refinance, to take your name off the mortgage, and to pay you your fair share of the equity.  You would be surprised at how many people we talk with, as Augusta, Georgia divorce attorneys, who have not considered these important issues!

2.  IF SLUGGO CANNOT REFINANCE THE HOUSE:  In the event that Sluggo cannot, or does not, refinance the home mortgage within the allotted time, you should also discuss with your divorce lawyer the idea of including in your settlement agreement a default provision providing that, following the refinancing deadline, the home must be listed and sold.  Also, you and your divorce attorney could include some language providing for appraisals and methods to arrive at a fair sale price, in the event that you and your spouse cannot agree on it.

Again, the point of this post is that you should discuss with your own divorce attorney some of the ways to accomplish selling the marital home, getting your name off the mortgage, and obtaining your fair share of the home equity.  We, at The Goolsby Law Firm, LLC, enjoy helping our divorce clients every day to deal with such important issues in their divorces.  Again, it is important that you find your own divorce attorney to help you though these critical divorce issues involving property division.

You may not live in the White House, but, following a divorce, you still don't want to be stuck with liability for the marital home mortgage, especially if you aren't living there!  Let Sluggo pay it!

Gray Divorce: A Growing Trend

Just because they have recently made the headlines, Al and Tipper Gore certainly do not have the only long-term marriage which is splitting up in this nation today. Indeed, the trend is toward more and more "gray divorces;" that is, married couples over 50 who are seeing divorce lawyers and fiiling for divorce. According to numerous reports, presently, one-fourth of all marriages which have lasted two decades, or longer, are now headed toward divorce court.

If you find yourself in this situation, what are some of the consequences and important things for you to discuss with your own divorce lawyer? Let's focus one just one today: what will happen to the marital home?

First, you should consider who will keep the marital home. Also, if you decide you can't afford the home, then consider how can you get your name off the security deed and, at the same time, how can you get your fair share of the home equity. For instance you may want to discuss with your divorce attorney the idea of either requiring your spouse to refinance the home mortgage, in his own name, (thus eliminating your liability), or simply list and sell the home, (and split the net proceeds).

Of course, many of the issues common to a "gray divorce" will also be faced by younger married couples going through a divorce. But hopefully, with the help of an experienced divorce lawyer, (along with loving support from family and friends), you can, at any age, successfully navigate the same waters, too!