Can I Keep My Home in the Divorce?

Transitions are difficult. Although they represent a new beginning, they also represent a loss. Divorce may be one of the hardest transitions a person will have to face. Divorce means losing family as you knew it, losing part of your assets and income stream and maybe losing your identity if you are the stay at home childcare giver. With all that loss, it is not unusual for one or both parties to want to “keep the home.”

For most divorcing couples their two most valuable assets are their home and their retirement savings. To keep the home in a divorce means having the ability to “buy out” the other spouse’s interest in the home and then having the ability to maintain the home while still being able to afford to put food on the table and clothes on your back.

Whether you can afford to purchase the other spouse’s interest and have enough cash flow (after tax income) to meet the house expenses, your transportation expenses and all your personal expenses, requires an analysis of your assets, liabilities and expected cash flow post-divorce. Although the emotional need to keep the home is strong, without knowing what it means to your actual post-divorce lifestyle, it could be foolish to cling to the home. Knowing what it will mean, will allow you to make an informed decision about what you are willing to sacrifice, and what you are not, in order to keep the home.

The experienced attorneys of Cohn Lifland’s Family Law Group are ready to help you with the analysis so that you can make an informed decision about the cost of keeping the home.