Splitting with a spouse is rarely a friendly, positive time. Emotions will tend to be raw, and it’s a difficult time to make logical decisions. Unfortunately, you will not live together forever, and decisions will have to be made about what to do with the home you once shared. There is the possibility that one of you may try and buy out the other for the remaining share of the home; however, before either of you make that sort of decision, there is some action you must take.
You also have to ensure that the home reappraisal is a decision made jointly with your spouse and that the person doing the appraisal is jointly agreed upon. When scheduling the home appraisal, arrange it for a time when both you and your spouse can be there. This will avoid any unpleasant disagreements about what the appraiser may have said – or not said – and that, in turn, will allow you both to be on the same page about exactly how much the home is worth and what needs to be fixed in order to optimize the home’s value.
Once that’s done, the judgment should clearly outline exactly when the spouse who’s buying out the other’s share in the home should have refinanced the mortgage and had the spouse’s name removed from the mortgage. It’s also a good idea for the divorce judgment to contain language that specifically contains instructions for each spouse with regards to the marital home. The judgment should outline very specifically what each spouse is responsible for in terms of the disposal of the marital home, whether it explains that one spouse is to continue to contribute mortgage payments while the other is responsible for listing and selling the home. Regardless of the instructions included in the divorce judgment, it’s important to have the language clear so that each spouse is well aware of each partner’s responsibilities, and that there’s no disagreement as to who does what when.
Divorce can be a very messy and unpleasant time for all parties involved, but in spite of the emotional stress, spouses that are splitting can make getting rid of the marital home less stressful. By having the home reappraised and determining exactly what the home is worth according to current market value, and working together to determine what each one’s responsibility is as far as disposing of the family home goes, couples that are heading for divorce can make the stress they are feeling lower and give themselves one less headache during a time of heartache.