Melanie K. Morgan Divorce Law Blog on Lawyers.com

What do we do with the house?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 by Melanie K. Morgan

Photo of Melanie K. Morgan

There's probably never a good time to get divorced, but the current real estate market makes it tougher for many couples.  Most of my clients have one major asset - their home.  The days when a judge would just order that the wife "gets" the house are long gone;  now most couples have two wage-earners and both need the equity from the house to establish their new residence elsewhere. 

Fortunately, home prices haven't dropped so dramatically here in north Texas, although the market is slow.  Most couples opt not to sell the house in a down market;  rather, one party keeps the home and buys out the other party by dipping into retirement savings. 

To help a couple in a collaborative divorce approach the issue, remind them of the old saying, "There are five solutions to every problem."  Then come up with five solutions, even if some of them seem ridiculous.  Here are some examples:

1) Sell the house and split the proceeds
2) H keeps the house for two years, at which time he will sell and split the proceeds with W
3) H and W both continue to live in the house
4) W lives in the house; rents out guest room to a boarder and pays rent to H until his share of equity is paid back
5) Both parties move out and lease the house (down here, rents are higher than mortgages)

This process can get couples "unstuck" and promote creative problem-solving, which is the heart of the collaborative process. 

 
Posted at 18:50 PM
Topic: Divorce
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