If you’re getting divorced, one of the decisions you have to make is what to do with your home. This could be a home that you purchased with your spouse after getting married. That makes it a marital asset, so some type of property division has to be carried out.
The most common tactic that people use is to sell their home. This is often the easiest way to divide the value. You can sell the house to someone else, split the money that you earn with your ex and be done with the process. But what other options do you have? What if you don’t want to sell?
You can both own the home
One thing to remember is that you don’t even have to sell the house. For instance, some parents will continue to jointly own the home and their custody schedule will simply tell them when they live in the house with the children. The children don’t have to move at all. This is often known as birdnesting, and it can be beneficial in situations where children don’t want to move just because their parents are getting a divorce.
You can buy half of the home
Another potential option is to buy half of the home from your ex. This is similar to selling to a third party. You’re simply buying the house from your ex and giving them their half of the earnings, while keeping the home itself. Generally speaking, you have to refinance your mortgage to do this, so just be aware that you’ll have to qualify for the mortgage on one income.
As you can see, there are multiple options for your home during a divorce. Be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take.