I have been married for almost 6 years, we have one child together that is 5 and I have one from a prev marr.?

Question

We have owned our house for almost 6 years. Is the law still the same do I have to sell the house if we get seperated or divorced? I want to be able to keep my kids in the house at least until they are 18 and then if it has to be sold I am fine with it. I make enough on my own to handle all the bills of the house. I would appreciate anyones help if they know.

Our income is 70% me and 30% him. I have the medical insurance for the kids and I am the only one that has retirement.

I think he loves the house more than me so I think it is going to be a problem

I live in california

Answer 1

I assume the mortgage is in both of your names? If so, there would be no reason for your (ex)-husband to allow his name to remain on a mortgage for a home he no longer occupies, nor would you want him retaining ownership in a home you're paying down.

If you can _indeed_ afford the mortgage on your own (mothers usually want to keep the house for stability reasons and for the kids), then the only viable solution is to refinance the home in your name and come to an agreement on your husband's portion of any equity.

P.S. - any party liable for the mortgage can force the "sale" of the home, which can certainly include you refinancing it. In this case, the divorce decree could involve your husband signing a quit-claim on the deed to the property in exchange for equity compensation.

Answer 2

If the house is owned jointly by you and your husband, I would guess that your husband will be entitled to his share of the equity. You may be able to 'buy out' his share by giving up a a comparable claim that you might have on other joint assets, such as a bank account. There would be many factors that might weigh in this, such as what contribution you each made to purchase and financing of the house, what a judge in your jurisdiction would consider equitable distribution of marital assets, etc.

A question like this really should be posed to a matrimonial attorney (aka divorce lawyer) who is familiar with the laws, procedures and customs in your jurisdiction. Free advice from anonymous strangers on the Internet may be worse than worthless, it could be harmful. Hiring a good lawyer might be expensive, but not hiring one could ultimately be even more expensive!

Answer 3

Any reasonable man would want his child housed, fed, clothed, and taken care of. He would share the responsibility for raising the child. And he should pay child support as well. If he is stupid, he will make an issue of this...at that point, you can afford a lawyer and take him to the cleaners. Why don't you discuss this with him, not us. It is much easier to work things out amicably than in courts...courts should be the last resort. I cannot imagine not taking care of my children. But then again, I am a man. I have no idea what you are married to. Good luck

Answer 4

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advise in any way..but in Illinois this is what I found when I got divorced but remember each state is different...but most in cases it is decided by the couple that is getting divorced... In most case the one that is keeping the house will have to refinance in their own name...and may even have to pay the other person their portion of the equity earned in the house they would be entitled to. Only rarely are you forced to sell...and that usually stems from the couples inability to settle on what to do before the divorce is fianllized. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

The house can be uesd as a bargining tool. such as if he has a retiremnt fund you can exchange your share of that for the house. but it seems you both have been paying equally on the house and you need it for the children and you can pay for it. There is a good chance the judge will see you get it.
When I got my divorce I didn't ask for anthing. told the judge all I wanted was the divorce. my husband had a list of things he wanted. The judge took his list and split that in half. I got 90% of everything. He only got what the judge ordered him. Due to he didn't ask for everything. The worst that could happen is the judge ask you to buy him out which you could take out a second morgage for and pay with his child support.

Answer 6

Your house may come under "marital assets" and depending on division of propety you may be awarded the house in a divorce. Usually in these cases the husband gets the car the wife gets the house. Or you may be required to buy out your ex's half of the house or you both may be required to sell the house and split the proceeds, then you could use that as a downpayment on another house.

Answer 7

It depends on what state you're in. I don't for sure know of any state that REQUIRES you to sell the house, just to split the assets. You could buy him out or you could find other ways to divide the assets so that you get the house and he gets other things that equals the value (I don't know if you have things like a retirement portfolio, etc. or not)

Answer 8

I'm not sure of the legal answer but I would imagine that if you were supposed to sell the house to give your spouse half of the amount then I would think that you would just be able to give him half of the amount. It may be something that you can put into the divorce settlement that you keep the house.

Answer 9

I'm pretty sure California is a community property state, so you would either have to sell the house, and split the money, or buy him out, like the others have said.

Answer 10

Usually you can stay in the house until your children are 18, but of course, this depends on local laws.