Divorce and what to do with your joint asset ” Your personal home”
Divorce is a subject that can be a sensitive topic to discuss with anyone who is in the process or may have gone through it already . Emotions are at an all-time high and rational thinking at times may go out the window. Especially when trying to iron out the details pertaining to the couple’s joint asset ” The house”.
Divorce Stats
In the U.S, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds. That is nearly 100 per hour, $2,400 divorces per day, 16,800 per week, and 876,000 per year. The average length of a marriage that ends in divorce is 8 years and the average age for couples going through their first divorce is 30 yrs old. Statistics have shown that in the U.S. 50% off first marriages, 67% of second and 73% of third marriages end in divorce. Men are more likely to remarry and 80% of divorcees remarry within 4 years.
Is your state considered a Equitable Distribution or Community Property State
Arizona is a community property state. In these states, judges simply divide the couple’s joint assets in half. This makes for a quick and clean division of marital property. Judges do not consider the couple’s employment prospects, age, or even health of either party. One of the first discussions of divorcing couples is ” Who will keep the house?” It is very important before meeting with the judge that you have an understanding of the true value of the property. This is why it is very important to have an experienced real agent involved early in the process.
Keep in mind: You’ll still have to negotiate the value of all the assets in order to find an equitable agreement.
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Hiring the right real estate agent is imperative
There are many moving parts to divorce especially when there is a property involved. The average person is not aware of all the many undesirable situations leading up to determining the equitable breakdown of the details of the house. This can include things like, who pays for the mortgage, what happens if the mortgage is not paid especially to the party not living there, is the house is even insurable, what if you can’t get a clear title to sell in the future, unpaid credit cards, unpaid taxes, liens on the property and the list goes on and on.
Not only is it recommended to have a divorce attorney involved but also a well versed real estate agent who can educate and explain the reasons why selling can save both parties from financial headaches in the future. Splitting the proceeds on the front end will iron out a lot of the potential awful issues that can present down the road.
For some divorcees, a buyout is a more appealing strategy. This is an option for one of the parties who wants to keep the home pays the spouse half of the current market value of the property in order to gain sole ownership. The buyout may be more or less than half of the market value, depending on certain factors.
Why go this route: One spouse may choose to keep the family home to maintain consistency for their children, or because it’s close to school or work. It’s also a good option if your local real estate market isn’t favorable, and you’d take a loss if you sold.
Keep in mind: This option requires that the person doing the buying out has access to a significant amount of cash that isn’t subject to the rest of the divorce proceedings, although it is sometimes possible to roll a buyout into a home refinancing. It’s also important to make sure you can still afford your mortgage payment (if you have one) on a single income.
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