Many people purchase a home after getting married. Because they often have two incomes to work with, they may purchase a more expensive home than they would have on their own. This purchase may not have been an issue for you, but now that you are getting a divorce, you may wonder what will happen to your marital home during property division.
Before you get to that point in your divorce proceedings, you may want to think about what you want to happen with the home. Do you have a sentimental attachment to it because of the memories made there? Are you ready to get rid of it and anything else that reminds you of your now-ending marriage? Answering these or similar questions may be helpful during the process.
Selling the home
It is common for individuals to sell the marital home after or even before getting a divorce. This option may be right for a number of reasons, including:
- Each of you contributed to purchasing the home, and now you both want a portion of the proceeds.
- One person wants to keep the home but cannot viably do so on one income.
- One or both parties need the funds from the sale of the property to make up for expenses in the immediate aftermath of the divorce.
- One or both parties want to take advantage of the tax ramifications of selling the property while still married.
- The house now represents a negative time in your life: the miserably-married part.
Because of the various reasons for selling a marital home, it may help streamline the process to discuss this matter with the other party. Of course, if you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse no longer get along, discussing anything and reaching an agreement may seem impossible. If this is the case for you, you are not out of options. You may be able to find alternative ways to negotiate, or you may allow the court to make those decisions for you.
Accepting the outcome
Some divorce outcomes can be difficult to accept, so if you have strong feelings about what should happen with the marital home during property division proceedings, you may want to go over your available options for working toward that outcome. You may also want to better understand how Texas laws affect your case, and discussing this specific topic with an experienced Board-certified expert Family Law divorce attorney in Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County or elsewhere throughout Texas may be helpful to you.