When New Jersey couples divorce, they have tons of business to take care of. At the top of the list is the need to split up any assets that the couple has accumulated during the marriage. If the couple never had children and there are no or very few assets, the couple usually has a straightforward, easy divorce. If there are assets and children involved, things are more difficult to split up.
When couples have a house between them, the custodial parent, sometimes, takes the house if there are children involved. This is usually done to keep the children in as stable an environment as possible. Allowing the children to remain in the marital home with the custodial parent helps ensure that the kids have as little disruption in their lives as possible after the divorce is final.
While it, sometimes, makes financial sense for the custodial parent to take possession of the marital home, it’s, sometimes, a bad idea. Lawyers and financial advisors will sometimes advise their clients not to take possession of the marital home if doing so will cost them dearly in costs like taxes, maintenance, HOA fees, utilities, and other costs associated with maintaining a home. In these cases, clients are advised to sell the marital home and split the profits with their exes.
Recently, lower housing prices are allowing more people to stay in their marital homes after their divorces. The slow-down in the real estate market is creating a situation where it makes more sense for someone to stay in the marital home versus selling it. For many people, it has presented an opportunity for them to buy out their soon-to-be ex’s share of the house.
People who are going through a divorce may benefit by working with attorneys who have experience handling marital assets. These attorneys have track records working with many different financial scenarios.