Going through a divorce in southern Ohio is not an easy process. There are many aspects of their lives that need to separated as they move into their separate residences and begin living separate lives. The couple may have acquired a number of assets during the marriage. This may include homes and other real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, motor vehicles, jewelry, collectables, household goods and other property.
These assets come in different forms though. Some can be more easily divided than others in a divorce. Bank accounts and other financial accounts can be split and each spouse’s portion can be transferred to a separate account. However, other assets cannot be split in half that easily. People cannot each take half of a motor vehicle or cut a home in half. Often couples own multiple motor vehicles and each spouse can take one of the vehicles. This is not always true for homes though and usually couples only own one house.
Options for dividing a house
Couples going through a divorce have three main options for dividing the house.
- Sell the house – Couples can choose to sell the house and equitably split the equity in the house after any mortgages, realtor fees and closing costs are paid. This can often times be the cleanest, easiest option.
- Refinancing in one spouse’s name – One spouse can keep the home and refinance the mortgage into their sole name. Through the refinance process they will need to take additional loans out to pay the other spouse their portion of the equity in the house. Sometimes banks will not allow a refinance into one spouse’s name or the spouse cannot obtain enough money to pay the other spouse their portion of the equity.
- Both spouses keep the home – Both spouses could also choose to both retain ownership of the house. This could be a good option while the couple has children in school and one spouse cannot buy out the other. The couple could then choose to sell at a later date and split the proceeds.
Many married couples in southern Ohio own homes and raise their families in the home. Like other assets though, if the couple eve divorces, the house will need to be divided. This is done by the couple splitting the equity in the house. Couples have options on how to accomplish this, but they can get complicated depending on the circumstances. Experienced attorneys understand the options and may be able to guide one through the process.