Does my ex owe equally the propety taxes on a home only I am now living in but we both are owners of?

Question

My soon-to-be ex spouse is no longer living in the house we own together. I am trying to get the house sold currently. The ex will share equally in splitting the house proceeds. I pay the entire mortgage myself. Isn't my ex responsible for sharing the property taxes UNTIL THE HOUSE SELLS. My ex only wants to share in paying the 2005 taxes but not 2006 and onward until the house sells. Also I live in a community property state (WI) if that helps.

Answer 1

Splitting the profits on the property should have been addressed in the divorce decree. Normally all cost of operating the properety is split down the middle, as is the proceeds from the sale of the property.

You should check the divorce decree and failing to have it spelled out in that document, I would check with the attorney that represented you.

You might hold out on paying the taxes until the house is sold and let the escrow closing take care of the taxes out of the proceeds to you and your wife. Now doing it this way might cause you a penalty for paying your taxes late.

You should also deduct any and all mortgage payments you made while the house was being sold from the proceeds of the sale of the property. So if you guy were to share the sale results and the proceeds from the sale were $10,000, but you paid $2,500 in mortgage payments you should be able to deduct the $2,500 and she get $7,500 as her share.

Now there might be a case where she can say that she was due rent since she did not stay there. That is why it is important to find out what your divorce decree spelled out.

It is a fact that someone had to pay the mortgage until the was sold, also a fact that someone had to reside there until it was sold.

As for me I would attempt to take the mortgage payments I made out of her proceeds.

Check with your attorney for a clarrification on this matter.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 2

All these people here who babble on about things that do NOT answer the question perplex me. Anyway, if your soon to be ex-spouse is listed as an owner (either joint tenancy or tenants in common) then he or she IS responsible for the taxes (regardless of whether or not he or she lives there at the moment), unless something different was spelled out in the divorce decree. I would consult an attorney pronto, as your ex is apparently trying to finagle their way out of the thing.

Answer 3

You have a choice to make. You can either commit a great portion of your future income, time, effort, sleepless nights, worrisome days to establishing and maintaining a divorce, or you can apply that same energy and money to fixing and maintaining your marriage.

The taxes question will result in more dollars for two divorce attorneys.

Answer 4

you both got into it