Should You Try To Keep Your Home When You Divorce?

Your home can become one of the biggest points of contention should you divorce. Homes often mean a lot to their owners, and when combined with the fact they are the couple’s most valuable assets, it is understandable that people often fight over who keeps them.

Fighting over any element of a divorce is likely to make the whole process take longer and more difficult. If you can reach an agreement with your spouse over what happens to the house, this is usually the best solution.

Factor your home into the overall total of assets

If you add up all your other assets, you might find they are not far off the value of the home. A court will always look at the total assets when dividing property, so keeping the house is unlikely to be as much of a win as you might hope. If you keep it, a court would balance it out by giving other property to your spouse.

Calculate the true financial value of the house

You might own a half-a-million-dollar house, but that does not mean it is worth half a million in the property division process. If you still have a massive mortgage on it, then its value is much less. It’s effectively the amount you would be left with if you sold the house and paid off the mortgage. The rest is the bank’s money.

If you have children, consider them

Allowing your children to continue living in the same house may provide stability. So, if the plan is for the children to spend most of the week with your spouse, it might make more sense for them to keep the place.

With appropriate legal help, you can learn more about how to decide which items to seek to keep during the property division process and which to let your spouse have or sell.