It’s true that many couples decide to sell their house when they get divorced. They bought that house as a family home where they thought they would live for years and raise their children. The marriage is ending, so they both want to move on.
There’s also a financial side to this. Generally speaking, the parents want to sell the house so that they can take the earnings and divide them. This is the easiest way to deal with this type of asset, and divorce is already complicated, so people are often drawn to the easy path. But, do you have to sell your house if you’d rather keep it?
You can offer to refinance in your own name
You don’t have to sell. You can talk to your spouse about refinancing the home in your own name and keeping it. You’ll need to get a new mortgage, most likely, unless your spouse is willing to stay on the mortgage with you even when they become your ex. Most people are not, because they don’t want that obligation, so this is when you have to refinance.
The other thing to keep in mind is that your spouse likely still has a right to some of the value of that house. It may be as high as 50%. If there’s equity in the home and they would have made money on the sale, they’re still going to want that money. This may need to be addressed by allowing other assets to be transferred to them that you ordinarily would have received, or you may need to take out a larger mortgage so that you can buy their portion of the house from them.
As you can see, keeping the house is possible, even if it is more complicated. Just take the time to consider all of your legal options. The more guidance you have, the better you position yourself to make the best possible choices.