When two spouses separate their lives from one another through a divorce, so comes the division of their assets. This can be difficult to negotiate, as spouses often share significant marital property, including their house. Continue reading to understand what will happen to your house after your divorce and how one of the experienced New York City division of assets attorneys at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. can navigate you through this process.
Is my house considered marital property?
When your house is bought or acquired during your marriage, it is considered marital property and can be subject to equitable distribution in your divorce.
On the other hand, if you, for instance, bought and owned your house before you got married and did not put your spouse’s name on the title, it is considered exempt property. This means that it is not subject to equitable distribution, as it belongs to you as the sole owner on the title. Other circumstances in which your home would be considered exempt property are if someone gave it to you as a gift, you inherited it, or a prenuptial agreement excluded it from the marital estate.
How will my house be equally distributed?
Once your house is determined as marital property, New York courts will assign a value to it. To retain equitable distribution, they may consider factors such as your contribution to the marital property, financial circumstances, and tax consequences.
Then, when equally distributing the value of your house, there are three main ways in which this can be done. They are as follows:
- Selling the house: this is meant for spouses who cannot afford to buy out the other and keep up with the costs of the house. Once it is sold, the proceeds can be divided equally between both spouses. Or, it can be divided unequally to compensate a spouse for giving up another asset.
- Arranging a buyout: this is when one spouse buys out the other spouse’s equity. When this happens, the buying spouse usually arranges to refinance the loan, the selling spouse receives their share of the equity, and the loan will only be in the buying spouse’s name.
- Continuing to co-own the house: this is a common option when a couple has children that benefit from staying in their same family home. In these situations, one spouse usually moves out and waits for a period of time before selling the house.
If you have any further questions regarding the future of your house after your divorce, do not hesitate in reaching out to one of our skilled New York City divorce attorneys today.
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