Tips for Managing Your Marital Home During a NY Divorce  

Divorce is an emotional process, whether or not it’s something you believe is best for you and your family or even if it’s something you have decided you want. Often, couples let their feelings about their dissolving marriage get in the way of being able to mutually benefit from the management of their marital home. Your home is an investment of your time and money and if handled appropriately during your divorce, can help provide you with the resources needed to start over after splitting up.

Here are several tips for managing your marital home during a Long Island, NY divorce and how veteran New York family law attorneys Hornberger & Verbitsky, P.C. can help.

Treat the Management of Your Marital Home Like a Business Transaction

You’re bound to have a mix of positive and negative emotions about your marital home, but allowing these to dictate what happens to it could rob you of many advantages that you would otherwise have. Instead, consider treating the management of the house you share with your spouse as a business transaction or financial deal. After all, it is likely your largest and most precious investment.

Although we marry for love, in the eyes of the law, it is essentially a business deal. Your goal should be to protect your own financial interests before your spouse’s and before affording the home’s sentimental value a significant amount of weight in the decision-making process.

Let Someone Live in the Home While You List It

If you and your spouse decide to sell the marital home, you will have more success doing so if someone is living in the house. Staging an empty home for sale is difficult because it tends to look smaller, colder, and less inviting than homes that are obviously occupied. People may also consider it a bad omen and be reluctant to purchase a home for their family that was previously owned by a divorcing couple.

If it’s not possible for someone to actually live inside the home during the divorce, you should consider leaving enough furniture and clothing in the space to make it appear lived-in. Even renting the space with someone who is willing to show the property and keep it clean during the sales process is preferable to trying to sell an empty marital home.

Consider Compelling the Sale If You Need To

If your spouse does not have enough money to purchase your shares in the marital home, you may be able to legally compel the sale. Some couples are amendable to a payment plan that allows the spouse making the purchase to buy the selling spouse out of their shares over time instead of coming up with a lump sum of money.

That doesn’t work for many couples though, especially those involved in a contentious divorce. Another option to consider is compelling or forcing the sale of your marital home with the help of a judge. You can file a motion for a judge to make it mandatory for the house to be sold and for the profits to be distributed fairly according to New York’s equitable distribution law.

Make Sure Your Spouse Can’t Hurt Your Credit Score

Be wary of allowing your spouse to remain responsible for making payments on a property to which your name is also attached. If they fail to meet their financial obligations on time, your credit score will also be affected. If your name is still on the mortgage and your spouse does not make the payments, the only way to avoid a negative impact on your credit score would be for you to make these payments for your spouse.

The better option is to remove your spouse or yourself from any account, property, deed, or other shared financial responsibility before they have the opportunity to miss a payment. This may include the marital home and potentially even your automobile, credit cards, and other financial accounts.

Contact a Long Island Divorce Attorney for Legal Assistance

Navigating the process of divorce is intimidating enough without worrying about what will happen to your marital home during and after your marriage is dissolved.

Hornberger Verbitsky, P.C. is a veteran Long Island, NY divorce law firm that can help you manage the various aspects of your divorce, including but not limited to navigating the sale of your marital home. Call today for a free consultation to discuss the specifics of your case with a qualified attorney by dialing 631-923-1910 or fill in the short form on this page.