People who go through a divorce often opt to sell the marital home or have one party buy out the other party’s share of the home. There’s another option that people don’t always think about – joint ownership of the home. This is often a viable option for parents who want their children to continue to be raised in the family home.
Co-owning a home with your ex after divorce isn’t always easy. Understanding some of the challenges that come with these situations may help you decide what to do.
Who will live in the home?
Including information about which party will live in the home is important. This is especially important if the basis of keeping the home is so the children can live there. For that situation, you may need to consider the possibility of the parent who’s living with the child full-time changing.
How are expenses handled?
One of the biggest challenges in this type of arrangement for the home is the financial side of things. Regularly occurring expenses, such as insurance and taxes, should be included. Also include things like repairs, upkeep, utilities, mortgage payments and any other expenses you can think of.
Getting the answer to these and any other questions you feel should be answered in writing can help you avoid contentious situations in the future. It may behoove you to work with someone who can assist you in thinking of various terms for the co-ownership that should be present in the agreement.