So right now, as you’re watching this, at least one of you in the back of your mind is thinking one day you’re going to get a divorce. I know as sad as that sounds sometimes it’s for the better. The question is “What happens with your home if you decide to get a divorce?”. I have been a Toronto real estate agent for 14 years and I have clients who have found themselves in this situation. I encourage you and your partner to work through this as a team. The question is, how do we go about this?
Now the home that you share or the multiple homes that you share with your spouse (different than a common law partner), are all subject to a matrimonial home law. This means that you both have equal interest in the house and that interest will be dispersed when decide to sell it. Most people aren’t going to want to sell.
If you decide to get a divorce there are a few ways that you can go about your home. The first and the best way is for someone to buy out the other. Right now, our interest rates and housing prices are incredibly high making this very difficult. You cannot decide to buy or sell the house without the consent of the partner. This decision must be mutual.
A lot of clients come to me asking for appraisals when they are interested in separating from their spouse. Often they want they want that appraisal to come in very low because they are interested in buying out the other partner. They might tell me about all the problems that are in the house that they would have never told me about if they were actually selling the house!
Another thing to note is that if one spouse moves out of the house, that person might still be financially responsible for some of the costs that the person who stayed in the home ended up paying. This could be the mortgage payments, insurance, utility bills, etc. The person isn’t off the hook just because they chose to move out.
I have a great divorce lawyer, his name is John Sheard of Sheard Law. If any of you are experiencing these types of feelings, feel free to reach out to me and we can work through this together! Honestly!
