In many cases, couples who are getting divorced will sell their house. In some instances, one spouse will take over as the sole owner, which may require them to refinance the mortgage. This is all done as part of property division.
However, in other cases, couples may decide to continue jointly owning the home even after the divorce. This still satisfies property division requirements because they are co-owners. But why would a couple choose to do this even though their marriage is ending?
Stability for the children
Often, the reason is that the parents are trying to create a stable living situation for their children.
One example of this is if they’re going to use a co-parenting arrangement known as nesting. In a nesting arrangement, the children always live in the same home, and the parents take turns staying in the house based on custody arrangements. If they share custody every other week, for instance, each parent moves in and out of the house according to their custody schedule. The parent who is not on duty lives elsewhere when they don’t have custody.
Another example is if the children are close to the next stage in their lives. For instance, say a couple has a child who is 17 and only has a year and a half of high school left before graduating and going to college. To keep the child from having to move away from their school, friends, community and familiar living situation, the parents may choose to jointly own the house for the next year and a half – and then sell it after the child goes to college.
There are many different options when dividing property during a divorce. If you’re in this position, be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take.
