Real Estate Matters During a Divorce
May I purchase another home before the divorce is final?
This may be possible, but be aware that your spouse may have a marital interest in your new property. If your spouse agrees, this may be dealt with by executing a Stipulation and Order that will reflect that the new property and the debt associated with it is solely yours. If your spouse is not in agreement, you may be able to have the issue addressed by the family court commissioner. However, the court commissioner may be reluctant to allow you to purchase a new residence if it is going to have an impact upon your spouse’s credit in the future.
What if I would like to keep my house, what do I need to do?
Take into consideration the size of the home, utility payments and your family needs. Many times the desire to stay in the family residence is more sentimental than looking at the situation realistically. Going through a divorce will require you to set up two households on the same amount of income and therefore it is critical that you seriously analyze your monthly budget/expenses to see whether you could afford the house.
If you can afford the house, you may be required then to remove your spouse’s name from the underlying note and mortgage either by the time of the final hearing or a set period following the divorce. If you are not able to do this, you may be forced to sell the residence.
What if it is my spouse that is going to buy the home?
Under this scenario, you would execute a Quit Claim Deed and also require that your spouse refinance the underlying note and mortgage, not only to be able to pay you your one-half of equity in the residence but also to remove your name from the underlying mortgage so that it does not affect your credit in the future. If your spouse is not able to do this by a certain time period, your spouse may be forced to sell the residence.
If I am leaving is it still possible for me to purchase a house even though I may remain on the other note and mortgage for some period of time?
This varies based upon the lender you are dealing with. If there is a Court Order that requires your ex spouse to make the mortgage payments and he or she has consistently done so, they may not hold that obligation against you in the future in terms of qualifying for a new note and mortgage.
