One of the biggest questions is who is going to be responsible for continuing to pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and other expenses on the house during the divorce. The answer to this question will depend upon your unique situation. Usually, however, whoever has been paying these expenses, will be required to continue paying these expenses.
If you and your spouse cannot decide who will make these payments, then you may need to go to Court and have the Judge decide this.
If you own a home, a single family house, condo or other real estate, you and your soon to be ex-spouse will have to decide what to do with it. Very often, either the husband or the wife will want to keep the house very or the wife will want to keep the house. If you decide that you want to keep the house, you will have to pay to your ex-spouse the same amount of money as they would have received if the house was sold, and the proceeds were split. That is the general rule, although it does vary in some situations.
Usually, you will want to have the house appraised so that each of you has a clear idea of how much the house is worth now. The real estate market has been increasing in value over the last several years, and it is important to know how much the house is really worth now.
Another issue is the mortgage. In many situations, both spouses have signed on the mortgage and the promissory note, promising to pay the mortgage lender for the mortgage. The spouse who is staying in the house will have to re-finance the house or pay off the existing mortgage, so that the one who is selling and leaving will be free from the mortgage.
In some situations, the husband and wife will simply decide to sell the house, and divide the proceeds. You will need to arrange to have any necessary repairs done, so that the house can be marketed and sold. Almost always, there will be a great deal of furniture and other things to remove from the house, before selling it.
If you own other real estate with your spouse, then you will need to decide whether you want to keep it, or sell it. There are tax issues involved here too with capital gains tax and more. In most circumstances, both spouses will be entitled to half of the value.
