Getting divorced means dividing assets, and people often focus on big-ticket assets first. This could include things like dividing up a retirement fund or an investment portfolio. It could just mean dividing your financial savings.
One of the biggest assets that most people own is their family home. The easiest way to divide it is just to sell. This creates a new financial asset – the money that you earn during the sale – that you can then split between the two of you.
But you may not want to lose your home. Maybe it’s near a good school system for your children. Maybe it’s in a great neighborhood and you think of it as your dream home. Do you have any other options?
Two other tactics
There are two other tactics, the first of which is that you can simply offer to buy your spouse’s half of the home from them. They may be happy to sell as long as they feel like they are getting fair market value for their half of the house. You can buy them out and refinance in your own name, and then you own the home yourself.
Another option could be to continue to own the home together. As noted above, maybe you’re thinking about your children and the school system. Some couples will keep the home in their name, even if only one person lives there, and then sell it after the children graduate from high school.
Moving forward
Dividing assets can certainly get complicated, especially when they are very valuable. Take the time to look into all of your legal options so you know how to proceed.
