It can be hard to envision your future right after you realize divorce is imminent. From your family circumstances to your living situation, nothing may seem certain.
You will have to spend some time thinking about what is best for you and your children, if you’re a parent, when deciding how to handle your divorce. For many couples, retention of the family home becomes a sticking point during property division proceedings. Do you want to keep the house to live in after the divorce?
You don’t have to keep the home to keep some of its value
Real estate owned jointly by a married couple is not a zero-sum game in divorce. One person doesn’t get to keep the property and leave the other with nothing. If one spouse retains ownership of the family home, the other will typically receive assets that represent their share of the home equity in the divorce.
Once you realize that you have a claim to a share of the home’s value regardless of who lives there, it can be easier to examine your true feelings about staying at the property.
Some people want to keep the memories, while others want a fresh start
If you have raised your children in the home, it may be a source of stability for them and the location of many of your favorite memories. Trying to stay in the house during and after the divorce can make things easier on the kids. There are certainly benefits to keeping the house.
On the other hand, maybe your memories from in the house aren’t so pleasant in light of your divorce. Perhaps you like the house but would like to downsize to something that will fit into your budget more easily. Exploring their own feelings on the matter can help you decide what approach to take regarding the house itself and the rest of the property division process in your pending divorce.
