{"id":4919,"date":"2018-07-25T17:01:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T00:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=4919"},"modified":"2024-05-30T09:21:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T16:21:44","slug":"divorce-who-gets-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/divorce-who-gets-house\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Divorce, Who Gets the House? 6 Options You Should Weigh"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the wake of a divorce, it\u2019s usually the case that someone wants the house. That\u2019s according to\u00a0Jordan Bennett<\/a>, a top 1% real estate agent in Mission Viejo, CA, who is a certified specialist in working with divorcing couples to sell their homes.<\/p>\n

Who ultimately gets<\/em> the house in a divorce (if anyone) depends your state\u2019s laws<\/a>, whether you purchased the home before or after you were married, whose name is on the deed and mortgage, any prenuptial agreements you had, your finances, and each partner\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n

Before you meet with the mediator or lawyer who will help you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse work out the details of your separation, you want to understand your options.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal estate can be an emotional piece of the whole process,\u201d says Rachel Fishman Green, an attorney and certified mediator in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who\u2019s been in practice since 1995. \u201cI think it\u2019s best to consider all of the options before making a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

A house is most likely your biggest asset. For the sake of your financial future, you want to come to a resolution that is equitable for both parties without letting animosity cloud your judgment.<\/p>\n

Here are 6 options for what to do with the house in a divorce, and some things to consider with each route.<\/p>\n

1. One Spouse Buys Out the Other and Gets to Keep the House<\/span><\/h2>\n

Often, one or both halves of the couple want to keep the house, especially if children are involved. Learning that their parents are getting divorced is a lot for kids to deal with\u2014parents don\u2019t want to add the uncertainty of moving to a new home into the mix.<\/p>\n

In that case, one spouse generally has to be able to buy out the other spouse. \u201cThe usual thing to do would be to figure out if one person can buy out the other, and if not, they sell it,\u201d says Green.<\/p>\n

If a home was purchased recently, buying out your spouse (or vice versa) might be feasible, since you won’t have had time to build much equity.<\/p>\n

But more likely it will require the person staying in the home to come up with a significant amount of money, which can be challenging. Remember, all of your assets, including your savings, will be split, so unless you have a hefty joint savings account, you need another source of cash.<\/p>\n

Often one spouse will borrow money to buy the other one out. Or sometimes one partner has significant premarital savings that would be excluded from the split. Another option is to do a cash-out refinance, and use the cash to buy out the spouse not staying in the home.<\/p>\n

Essentially, in this scenario, the person that gets to keep the home is the one who can afford to.<\/p>\n

That person also must be able to qualify for the mortgage on their own, says Bennett, because generally instead of transferring the mortgage, the spouse that keeps the house will refinance it in their name.<\/p>\n

Things to Consider:<\/strong><\/p>\n