Should I Keep the House or Not? Financial Planning Advice for Del Mar Residents Going Through...
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Transcript of Should I Keep the House or Not? Financial Planning Advice for Del Mar Residents Going Through...
This four-part article series poses a series of questions to help people going through divorce decide whether it is in their best financial interests to keep
the house or to sell it and split the money.
elcome to the third installment of this four-part article series on whether
it’s a good or bad idea for you to keep the house post-divorce. In Part 1
and 2, we discussed the following questions in order to help Del Mar residents
make better financial decisions and plans when deciding who should keep the
house.
What does your house mean to you? Could sentimentality be coming
between you and the best financial and emotional decision for you and
perhaps your kids?
How long do you plan on staying in your house after divorce? If it’s
only for a short time, selling up while you’re still processing the divorce
might be the best decision as it saves you money on refinancing,
upkeep and selling.
Let’s continue with the next two important questions you should be asking
yourself if you’re considering keeping the house post-divorce.
“Should I Keep the House?”
Question # 3: Does it Make
Sense to Continue to Own the
Home Jointly With Your Ex?
Another option is to hold on to
your home and continue to own it
jointly with your ex. This often
works out very favorably with
more amicable divorces,
according to many Del Mar
financial planners. Doing it this way saves money on refinancing your home
to get your ex’s name off the mortgage. Additionally, you won’t have to trade
any of your own assets for his or her equity, such as your retirement fund. You
simply continue to own the house together, paying the same mortgage and
P-3
? Financial Planning Advice for Del Mar Residents Going Through Divorce,
sharing in the costs of upkeep. When you do decide to sell, you split the costs
of the sale down the middle, as well as the value of the house and its
appreciation.
“Should I Keep the House?”
Question # 4: If You Keep the Home, What Assets will You Have to
Sacrifice?
If you want to keep the house, you’re looking at trading some of your valuable
assets to compensate for your ex’s equity. It’s at this juncture that many Del
Mar residents make the potentially poor decision of trading their retirement
assets for their ex’s half of the
home. What you need to decide
is whether you can replace those
assets before you reach
retirement, otherwise you may
find yourself in a financial pinch,
even though you have held on to
the house.
Divorce can hit retirement plans
especially hard, because you’re
essentially splitting your retirement funds in half. Also, it can be hard to focus
on the future when the present is so tumultuous. What you should ask
yourself at this time is whether you can afford to give up your savings and
retirement provisions to keep the house. Speak to your financial advisor or
retirement planner about this. If you can’t, you’ll only end up having to sell the
house when your already exhausted funds run dry. You may only be
postponing reality by keeping the house.
Stay Tuned for Part 4
Stay tuned for the final installment of this four-part article series to read more
about asset management in Del Mar like financial advice on whether Del
Mar residents going through divorce should hold on to the house or not.
In Part 4, we’ll provide a recap of the questions explored thus far, before
taking a look at these final two:
Can you afford to keep the house and pay its mortgage?
Do you understand the tax consequences of keeping the house?