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Keeping the family home in a divorce

When a North Carolina resident is considering a divorce, one major goal he or she may have is keeping the family home. In many cases, the family home is the couple’s biggest asset. For those who have kids, retaining ownership of the family home may be important to ensuring a stable home life once the divorce is finalized.

Doing so boils down to a person’s finances and what other assets the couple may have obtained during the marriage. For example, to keep the home, the person may have to buy out the spouse’s share. If the couple is still paying off the mortgage, the person wishing to retain ownership of the home will have to be able to refinance the mortgage on his or her own. This can be difficult if the person did not work during the marriage.

There are other potential problems a person looking to refinance may run into. Even if the person is expecting alimony, some banks require that the person receive a certain number of alimony checks before he or she is eligible for a mortgage. The person’s credit scores may also go down during the divorce if the bills are neglected.

In many cases, the family home becomes a point of contention, especially if one person wants to retain the family home while the other person wants to use his or her share to purchase a new home immediately after the divorce. A family law attorney may assist with negotiating a settlement that deals with this part of property division. In many cases, the results could be ore acceptable than if a judge made the determination.

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