Marital relationships can help people enjoy a more comfortable standard of living than they could afford independently. Spouses combine their incomes and their pre-existing resources along with their personal abilities to enjoy the best lifestyle possible given their circumstances.
Many married couples can afford a home even if neither spouse could afford a mortgage independently. They may work together to fix up a property that was previously in poor condition. By keeping a relatively strict budget, spouses can potentially grow their equity quickly. If they divorce, both spouses may have questions about what happens next with the home they shared.
How can people determine who keeps the house in an Arkansas divorce?
Many personal factors may influence decisions
In certain, unusual circumstances, one spouse may have already had an ownership interest in a home before the marriage. They may have protected their interest with a prenuptial agreement. In those situations, they may be able to retain possession of the home after the divorce.
However, in most marriages, the home is at least partially marital property. Under the equitable distribution approach to property division employed in Arkansas, the spouse who doesn’t keep the home should receive a fair and appropriate amount of equity or other marital assets worth a comparable amount.
Each spouse has an interest in the home because the spouses have used marital income to pay the mortgage and maintain the property. The spouse who has a pre-existing connection to the property might be able to retain it after the divorce so long as they compensate the other spouse for a fair portion of the home equity.
Other times, arrangements for the shared children that the spouses have could influence decisions regarding the marital home. The courts may consider custody arrangements when allocating marital property. The spouse with more parenting time might be able to leverage their custody arrangements to stay in the marital home.
Occasionally, neither spouse is in a position to afford the home without the incoming credit score of the other. In such scenarios, the spouses may need to sell the home and split the proceeds of the sale. They may reach these important conclusions on their own, or a judge could make the final decision in contested property division cases where the spouses can’t reach an amicable agreement.
Thinking carefully about the future and finances can help people establish appropriate property division goals for an upcoming divorce. For some people, giving up their interest in the marital home leads to the best outcome when divorcing. For others, staying in the home may be the most important consideration.