When a Georgia couple is married, owning a home can be a dream. After a couple goes through a divorce, the same home that they worked hard to buy may end up feeling like a burden. Not only is it complicated to decide which person gets to stay in the marital home after a divorce, staying in the marital home can be a great challenge for a single person.
In one example, a divorcing woman in Tennessee had to decide whether to stay in the marital home after her divorce or sell the marital home and split the profit with her ex-spouse. After a marriage that lasted 37 years, the woman had the option to keep a home that was completely paid off. The woman's friends urged her to stay in the mortgage-free home, but the woman was unsure if she wanted to stay in a home that was much too big for her.
When the woman wrote to a financial planner, he warned her that keeping the large home could be a mistake. Though the woman's home would not come with a monthly mortgage payment, it would have high heating, cooling and maintenance expenses. The home was also older and in need of costly repairs. As a newly-single woman who was soon to retire, the woman was advised to cut her living expenses down to a minimum after her divorce.
An attorney may be able to advise a divorcing spouse about how to handle the marital home in a property division settlement. If a divorcing spouse has children that are still living at home, keeping the home may be beneficial. A divorcing spouse with no children or children that are grown may prefer to work out an agreement to sell the home and split the proceeds.
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