Dealing with the family home in a divorce

Nevada homeowners who are facing a divorce may be interested in some of the considerations that need to be made with regard to property division. Deciding when and how to deal with the division of a home can be very important, particularly when one spouse keeps the residence.

In many cases, particularly when children are involved, one of the spouses will keep the family home and compensate the other spouse for their half of the community property. This compensation could come from a deduction in other spousal support or asset division, or the spouse keeping the home could refinance that home in order to free up cash to pay the compensation. Issues crop up when the spouse who does not get to keep the home goes looking to purchase another home before the divorce is finalized. Lenders are unlikely to finance a new purchase until the couple is divorced and the spouse keeping the home has refinanced in their name only.

Experts recommend a few steps to be taken when dealing with issues like this. First and foremost, all mortgage-related issues should wait until the divorce has been finalized. If the non-homeowner spouse wishes to purchase a new home, they should be prepared to provide their entire divorce agreement to the lender. In cases where the couple knows that they will divorce at some point but have not begun the divorce process, it may be in their best interest to deal with the family home before this, while their relationship is still amicable.

Understanding the legal issues that come along with a divorce, particularly one where substantial assets are involved, can be difficult. A family law attorney can be helpful in helping to negotiate a comprehensive settlement agreement that will cover these matters.

Source: Credit.com, “How to Divide Your House in a Divorce“, Scott Sheldon, December 10, 2014