Last updated on April 8, 2021
Dividing real estate during a divorce in Georgia may seem cut and dried if your spouse wants to keep the home and you do not. However, coming to this agreement may not be as important as determining whether this decision is worth the potential financial and legal tangle. According to the New York Times, assessing the value of the home and fairly dividing the amount of equity in it are only two of many issues to consider if your spouse decides to keep this marital property.
Your spouse will probably need to refinance the home so your name can be taken off the mortgage, and then your portion of the equity would be awarded to you in the divorce decree. However, it may be that he or she will not be able to qualify for a mortgage unless spousal support or child support are counted as part of the income. This could raise problems if the lender will not approve the loan without a certain number of bank statements verifying this ongoing income. In that case, your name could remain on the mortgage until the end of that time limit, which could be from six months to three years, depending on the lender.
While your spouse may agree to make the payments on the current loan, any missed or late payments while you are waiting on him or her to be able to refinance would reflect on your credit report. You may also have trouble qualifying for a loan yourself while you are still listed on the mortgage, even if the obligations are met on time. This information about mortgages and divorce is general in nature, and should not be interpreted as legal advice.
