When couples in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, consciously uncouple and proceed in an orderly manner to divorce court, they tend to want to know how family law will affect the division of their assets. The biggest asset tends to be the family home, which in turn often carries a mortgage. If one of them keeps the house, they may wind up keeping the hefty mortgage payments as well, making being the sole homeowner seem a lot less attractive than it would if the mortgage was already paid off.
For that reason, divorcing couples with mortgages often just sell the home that the mortgage is on. That way, the net proceeds of the sale can be divided between the couple, rather than dealing with issues like its current value, projected future value and cost of mortgage payments. Although that is a very practical approach, some individuals insist on keeping the house due to sentimental reasons, like it being where Little Betty and Little Bobby took their first steps, or for less admirable reasons, like the fact that keeping the house can feel like winning to the individual who gets it.
If one person does get the house, he or she can pay the other person half of what the net proceeds from a sale would be, and then refinance in his or her own name only. The advantage to that approach is that they are then the sole owner of the home. The disadvantages of that are that they are faced with making a sizeable immediate payment to the other person and will have to make mortgage payments on their own from that point forward.
In some circumstances, one member of a former couple may be able to get sole ownership of the home while the other member of the former couple is tasked with making mortgage payments. However, this can be problematic, because if the ex misses payments, that can adversely affect the one who got the home.
Source: Money, “What Happens to Your Mortgage in a Divorce?,” Ashley Eneriz, accessed March 06, 2018
