If you and your spouse have made the difficult decision to end your marriage, you will next find yourself needing to make a seemingly endless laundry list of decisions. If you own a home together, what to do with that home when you get a divorce will be one of those decisions. People often put a lot of their emotions and work into a home which makes it logical that they might want to try and keep the home after a divorce. However, the decision to do this should be made with extreme caution.
If your spouse is the person who wants to keep the house, there are also things you should know before you simply agree to that. As explained by The Mortgage Reports, even if you sign over your portion of ownership in a home but the original joint mortgage remains, you will continue to have financial responsibility for that home. If your former spouse ends up not being able to stay current on the payments, your credit will take a hit just like theirs will. The bank may also be able to attempt to collect mortgage payments from you.
Your spouse should look into the option of getting a new mortgage in their name only if they want to keep the house after you get divorced.
If you would like to learn more about how to protect yourself financially and manage your home and mortgage when getting a divorce, please feel free to visit the property division page of our Wisconsin family law and divorce website.
