It is common enough for a spouse to want to keep the house after a divorce. This is especially true when the couple are parents who want their kids to be able to stay in the same home. The custodial parent will often want to keep the home, but buying out the other parent's interest in the home may not fit into the budget yet. Perhaps you want to wait to sell the house until the market improves, or maybe you are deferring the sale until your youngest child goes off to college. There are many situations where it is beneficial for former spouses to temporarily co-own a house. You will have to decide if this is the case for you. In the meantime, here are some of the reasons you may or not want to pursue house co-ownership after divorce.

Benefits of Co-Owning the House

Before you get worried that this section is shorter than the one below, remember that the reasons for keeping the house are often highly personal. You will best be able to come up with the benefits of choosing to co-own your family home. Some of these were already mentioned. Commonly, the benefit of co-owning the house is that it is a feasible path to a buyout. This means that one spouse intends to keep the house, but cannot yet buy out the other's interest in it. The spouse can co-own the home until the spouse has finished making payments toward buying the house and becoming the sole owner. Another clear advantage to co-ownership is that kids will not have to move. In a time of upheaval and painful transitions, one of them does not have to be moving to a new place. This can provide your children with a vital sense of stability.

The Drawbacks

These will be largely financial problems, and they can be a doozy. For instance, both spouse will be on the hook for the mortgage, and this will reflect on each of your credit reports. If the other spouse, who wants to buyout the house, misses a payment or falls behind, this will hurt your credit score too.

What if one of you has to file for bankruptcy? Both spouses would run the risk of losing the house, as it could be liquidated to satisfy one spouse's debt. And what if one of you dies, before co-ownership has ended? Whoever has an interest in the house is allowed to pass it down to whomever they choose. If the divorce agreement stipulates that one spouse gets to live in the house until the children reach a specified age, then you could choose to leave your share to the other spouse if one of you should pass away within that time frame. If you want to pursue co-ownership, then you should probably make your will too.

Then there is the fact that you and your spouse will have to be in consistent contact with one another, especially to create an arrangement on dealing with the mortgage, utilities, and repairs, etc. For some couples, the financial entanglements and/or the potential to renew hostilities are too much trouble. There is also the potential that the spouse with only temporary ownership may later decide that they want to sell the house after all. This could spell trouble. However, the divorce decree might include a date before which the house cannot be sold, in which case this would have to be honored. But if the other spouse really wants to sell the house, they can create trouble by claiming that they were coerced to sign the document, taking you to court. If you think that there is a chance for the other spouse to renege on such an agreement, think twice about co-ownership.

This can all be a steep price to pay, but sometimes, the cost of co-ownership is worth it. If you need help with these and other complex matters in your divorces, please do not hesitate to contact a qualified family law attorney, one who will be dedicated to protecting your family's strongest future.