Few possessions consume as much of your income as your house does. Some families spend as much as 30% of their monthly income on their mortgage. The more you have invested in your home in terms of both monthly payments and sweat equity, the greater the interest you will likely have in that property when you decide to divorce.
Some people mistakenly presume that real estate is a winner-take-all battle in a divorce. They assume that they either get possession of the property or lose it entirely. However, Colorado courts do their best to be just in their division of marital property between former spouses. There are three common and fair ways for you and your spouse to handle the house in a divorce.
One Of You Can Keep The House And Give The Other Some Equity
Especially if you share children, it may make sense for one spouse to stay in the family home, possibly with the kids, while the other moves on to a new space. The spouse that stays in the home will likely have to refinance the property and give their ex a share of the equity or will assume more of the marital debt to make things fair.
It May Be Best To Sell The Home And Split The Proceeds With Your Ex
Depending on your family’s needs and the current real estate market, selling the house and splitting the income from the sale might be the best option for your family. That way, both you and your ex can move out of a home that is full of memories of your marriage and neither of you loses out on the value that you’ve accrued in the property during the marriage.
Some Families Choose To Birdnest Or Share The Marital Home
If you have kids whom you would like to have stay in the family house or if you and your ex agree that maintaining ownership of the house and renting it out until the market gets stronger is the best approach, you may end your divorce with joint ownership of the property.
In a birdnesting arrangement, you and your ex will probably each have your own apartment elsewhere and will stay in the family home when it is your parenting time with the children. If you decide to treat the marital home as an investment property, you will likely share responsibility for its upkeep, income from rent and proceeds if you sell it in the future.
Really thinking about what the next five years of your life will likely look like after your divorce can give you an idea of which solution might be best for your family.