Many married couples in Kentucky have lived in their family home for many years. The memories that are associated with the family home are priceless. However, if the couple decides to divorce, they will need to decide what to do with the family home via property division now that they no longer live together.
Sometimes each spouse is no longer interested in living in the family home after a divorce. As they both move on to a new part of their lives, they may not want to be tied down to the family home. In addition, if a spouse remains in the family home, he or she may constantly be reminded of the difficult and unpleasant memories associated with the divorce. When this happens, spouses may choose to sell the house and split the proceeds. If there is equity in the home, selling it may be easier.
If one spouse decides, for personal reasons, to stay in the family home, one option may be to transfer the interest in the home from one spouse to the other spouse through a quitclaim deed. This document states that the spouse who is not retaining the home is giving up all their rights to the home. However, even if a spouse signs a quitclaim deed, his or her name stays on the mortgage and that spouse could still be liable for missed payments, which could also have a negative effect on that spouse's credit score.
In addition, if one spouse wants to stay in the family home, another option may be for him or her to take over paying the mortgage. However, to do so, that spouse may need to refinance the house so that the mortgage is solely in his or her name and not in the ex-spouse's name. To do so, the spouse remaining in the home needs a sufficient income to be able to refinance. Keep in mind that if the mortgage remains in both party's names, each party is responsible for paying it, even if only one of them is living in the home.
These are only a few options divorcing couples have when deciding what to do with the family home. Asset division is complicated. But by carefully sifting through all options, couples in Kentucky may be able to make appropriate choices when it comes to deciding what to do with the family home after divorce.