Seeking a divorce comes with a lot of uncertainty. You don’t know how your divorce will impact your finances and which assets you’ll keep and which assets your spouse will claim. You may wonder about how you and your spouse will handle your largest asset: your home. Will you get the family home in your divorce?
Pennsylvania and property division
Pennsylvania practices equitable distribution in divorce. So, you and your spouse will divide your assets in a fair, equitable manner. As a result, one of you may receive more than 50% of the assets from your home’s value. However, you also will split any debts you have, such as home equity loan debt or mortgage debt.
If you want to keep the home you bought with your spouse after divorce, you have the following options:
- You can refinance the home and buy your spouse out of their share of its equity.
- You can give your spouse a larger share of other assets (such as investments or your retirement funds) to buy out your spouse’s share of the home assets.
- If you are eligible to receive spousal support, you could negotiate lowering that to pay for the assets your spouse will receive from your home’s value.
- You can continue to own the home together and divide its assets when you decide to sell it later on, perhaps after your children have finished high school.
Other factors in keeping the marital home
Before you decide you really want to keep the marital home after your divorce, you need to look at your budget. Can you afford paying the mortgage and upkeep costs on one income? Would the best decision be to sell the home and split the profits with your spouse?
You should consult an experienced divorce attorney as you begin to account for assets you will split with your spouse. An attorney can help you negotiate to keep the family home if you want to offer your children more stability in this time of transition.