Should you stay on the mortgage with you ex after divorce?

 Posted on December 27, 2022 in Divorce

Generally speaking, when two people get divorced, they will sell the house so that they can split any profit that they make from that sale. They can then use this money to buy new houses or apartments for themselves. They don’t stay on the mortgage together for their family home.

However, there are some cases in which couples will consider doing this. Perhaps the market is down, and they want to own the house for a bit longer to see if the value goes up. Perhaps the children don’t want to move out of the house, and they’re considering keeping it until the kids are done with high school. There are reasons that this happens, but is it something you should consider?

Remember your financial obligations

The big thing to consider here is that if you’re not going to be living in the house, staying on the mortgage with your ex means that you are still obligated to make those mortgage payments. Both you and your ex will continue to have that liability.

If your ex is staying in the house, they may tell you that they’ll have no problem paying the mortgage on their own. In fact, some people don’t want to refinance in their own name because they wouldn’t be able to qualify for the mortgage, even though they think that what they’re paying currently is affordable. However, if your ex is wrong and they start to miss payments, remember that you could end up having to pay what they can’t or see your credit rating suffer.

Dividing property can’t be complicated, so it’s wise to have experienced legal guidance. This can help you ensure that you carefully look into all of your legal options.