One of the hardest parts of divorce for many Indiana couples is dividing up assets. This can be even more difficult when a house is involved. Traditionally, legal advisors usually advised their clients to avoid going for the house in a divorce. This is because maintaining a house on one’s own can be extremely expensive. Many people who get the house in a divorce end up deep in debt because of all the costs associated with upkeep. This includes costs like taxes, maintenance and utilities. Attorneys usually recommend that the house be sold so that the divorcing parties can split the profits.
Recently, lawyers have eased up on this advice as the housing landscape has changed. Today, many legal representatives and financial managers recommend that their clients keep the house. This is because the decline in housing prices has led to a situation where keeping the home post-divorce has become a better possibility for many soon-to-be divorced spouses.
This is good news for people who don’t want to leave the marital home. The custodial parent very often prefers to stay in the marital home because it’s the home that they raised their children in. Staying in the home that their children grew up in helps ensure that there’s as little disruption to the children’s lives as possible.
If a parent decides to stay in the home, the next thing they need to determine is if they can comfortably afford to pay the monthly property costs. A financial advisor can help them with this by getting an estimate for the most recent value of the home. They should also consider if holding on to the home is a good long-term investment.
Figuring out what to do with a home during a divorce can be tricky. By working with a family law attorney who has experience splitting up marital estates, a soon-to-be divorcee could successfully navigate the property division process.
