3 reasons to retain joint home ownership after a divorce

Most divorcing couples are eager to separate their property and their lives. Even before they file with the courts, one spouse may move out of the family home and establish an independent residence. Sometimes, one spouse stays in the family home. Other times, a divorcing couple decides to sell the property and share the sale proceeds.

It has become increasingly common for those dividing their property in a divorce to maintain joint ownership of the house. There are several reasons why spouses facing a divorce might decide that they want to remain joint owners of the property at the time of their divorce.

They want to keep things stable for the children

Getting used to new homes and possibly a new school district can be very hard on children already struggling to adjust to their parents’ divorce. You can avoid the disruption that divorce causes your children if you keep them in the same home and therefore at the same school.

Birdnesting is a modern custody solution that involves parents retaining the marital home and having the children live there full-time. The parents then stay elsewhere when it is not their parenting time. Either the parents remodel the home so that there are two independent living spaces so that the whole family continues to cohabitate, or the parents rotate in and out of the marital home when it is their parenting time.

They need time to stabilize themselves financially

Sometimes, children are not the reason that spouses choose to share joint ownership after a divorce. Instead, financial issues for the spouse hoping to keep the house are the motive.

If someone will not qualify for the mortgage on their own or if they need time to re-establish themselves professionally, they might arrange a contract with their spouse where they retain joint ownership for a set number of years until refinancing and buying the other out becomes possible.

They want to use it as a source of revenue

Sometimes, couples are still in the process of renovating their marital home and they agree that if they continue to work on the property after the divorce, they will sell it for much more when they list it. Other times, they may agree to retain joint ownership and share the income they generate by operating the property as a rental, possibly a short-term rental if it is in a high-demand neighborhood that sees tourist traffic.

Looking into all of the ways to handle your property will make negotiating a settlement easier in your high-asset divorce.