My wife decides she wants to get a divorce. She wants to give me the house in exchange for 35k. Do I refinance first or should I get a lawyer to fully protect the asset. We will still be living together with our kids. She just wants to make it affordable for me to pay the mortgage after a refi . All She wants is her divorce paper. Sounds too good to be true right? If so, what’s the best thing for me to do? Location: Utah
Comments
Can you refinance, and if so, will the associated costs end up more than $35k in the long run?
Who is on the title? Who is on the mortgage? What do you need to do to change that?
What is your current rate compared to the current market? Would a second or a HELOC be a better choice?
What you need to do is get the divorce drawn up, terms listed, and approved by the court BEFORE you do anything.
You have kids, so child support, custody and consider the alimony aspect can all come into play. If everything is cordial, both of you sit down with a lawyer and draw it up. Depending upon where you are in UT, there are some legal help centers available.
Do not give her any money unless it is in the divorce decree, you dont have to refinance and dont give her any money until the divorce is final. I would just get a heloc and pay her from that. Make sure she is removed from the deed if you have to refinance to remove her from the mortgage than so be it
First off I’m sorry, I remember the pain I felt when my wife said those words to me. Secondly it depends but either way if her name is on the mortgage the court will make you refi in a short timeframe (6-12 months) or sell the house. My wife said she didn’t want anything. Then she wanted the furniture, then she wanted both dogs, then she wanted the whopping 1.3k she had put into out joint account throughout our marriage. Then she wanted half of the equity in the house but she waited too long. Point is once the papers are submitted they still have 60-90 days to amend/contest anything in the paperwork so it doesn’t matter if she’s saying all she wants is 1/2 equity. It could turn into spousal maintenance/alimony depending on the length of marriage,etc. things can change/get nasty fast. I would start putting extra cash aside for when you do have to payout and consult with a divorce lawyer. It seems amicable for now, but if she lawyers up you bet your bottom dollar you better lawyer up too. First I would get an appraisal to figure out how much equity she actually has right to. Then open a bank account with your name only and start paying the mortgage from that account as that 35k could increase to 40-45k by the time the decree is given. This can allow you to give bank statements to the judge to show you’ve been paying the mortgage solely and it’s not actually a 50/50 split of equity. It may also prove to the judge you can make payment and they may allow you up to a year to refinance.