What happens to the house during a divorce?

Divorces can be complicated matters due to what needs to be accomplished during the divorce. People share a life during a marriage and that life needs to be divided. Couples will need to divide their property. They may have multiple bank accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, collectables, jewelry, cars, businesses, homes, other properties and other assets as well.

Some of these assets are easier to divide than others though. Bank accounts can be relatively easy to divide. People simply need to take out or transfer half of the funds into another account. However, assets like houses can be more difficult to divide. Couples cannot simply cut a home in half or just sell their half of the house to another person in most cases.

How couples can divide homes in divorces

When dividing a house in a divorce, couples have a couple of different options. One option is to sell the house and split the proceeds of the sale. The couple may need to discuss how realtor fees, closing costs and other fees will be handled after the sale, but ultimately, this can be one of the easier ways to divide the house.

Sometimes, especially, if there are minor children, one spouse may want to keep the house. In these situations, the spouse keeping the house will need to buy the other one out of their portion of the equity in the home. This will involve obtaining appraisals of the property to determine the value. Once the equity is determined, the person will need to figure out how to buy the other out of what could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This can be accomplished through payment plans, retirement accounts and other ways. The person keeping the house will also have to refinance the home into their name alone.

Dividing homes in divorces can be a complicated process and may require the couple to be creative. Experienced attorneys understand the different options available to people and may be able to guide you through the process.