People say that home is where the heart is, but it is also where much of your personal financial worth is. The improvements you make to your property and the equity you’ve established through monthly payments may represent many years worth of your salary.
When you divorce, you obviously want to protect your long-term investment in your marital home. For many people, keeping their marital home is a major goal in a Virginia divorce. Some people just want their share of its value, but others want to continue living in the marital home.
Whether or not keeping the home is the right decision largely depends on your current situation. There are at least three scenarios when keeping your marital home may be the right goal in your divorce.
When the house is your separate property
Maybe you didn’t make payments toward the mortgage every month because you had already paid the house off before you got married. Perhaps you inherited it from your grandmother or parents. If you have proof that the property was your separate property at the time that you got married, you may not need to share its worth with your ex in your divorce.
When you assume the bulk of the parental responsibility
If you and your ex share children, your custody arrangements could influence what would be the best solution for your home in the divorce. Keeping things stable for your children is usually the best approach, and that may require that you stay in the marital home with them after the divorce.
When you have the credit and income to handle the mortgage payments by yourself
Although you may have been able to comfortably afford your mortgage during your marriage, it can be much harder to afford the same payment on your own after a divorce.
Even if you have a good credit score, you have to consider the likelihood that you will need to withdraw equity from the home to compensate your spouse for their investments in the property. The payments you have to make after doing so might be substantially higher than your current monthly payment.
Taking an honest appraisal of your financial circumstances can help you aim for appropriate goals in the property division proceedings of your divorce.
