Divorces tend to be complicated and hard to manage, especially for people who didn’t have a prenuptial agreement and need to divide a house. In Mississippi, the law requires property division be equitable, which means as fair as possible. If a couple shared a home and invested equity into it, property division can be complex.
A piece of property will be considered marital if both spouses bought the home together and invested money in it to pay off the mortgage. In fact, a home is the biggest asset most people own together, so it’s understandable when both spouses want to keep the house after the divorce.
If both spouses want the house, a judge ultimately decides who gets what during the divorce. When determining who gets the home, judges are charged with deciding what is fair and assessing whether awarding one spouse with the house will place an unreasonable financial burden on the awarding spouse.
For example, a judge may decide to award one spouse custody of the house, meaning he or she can still live there. However, the other spouse will still own whatever his or her interest in the marital home is. In one case, a wife was awarded sole use of the marital home, but it granted the husband the option of discontinuing mortgage payments after the children reached adulthoods. Instead of paying child custody, the husband paid monthly mortgage payments, taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.
In some cases, one spouse may pay the other their half of the mortgage amount so he or she can continue living in the house with full ownership. Each case will vary depending on the circumstances, so discussing your case with an experienced Jackson divorce attorney would help you understand your options a little better.
Talk to one of our skilled Jackson, MS divorce lawyers at Grant Legal Group PA about your case as soon as possible. We understand you might be experiencing one of the most stressful and emotional times in your life. Let us use our more than 70 years of combined legal experience to assist in your case.
Contact us at (601) 827-3031 or fill out our online form to schedule a free case consultation with us today!