Please note: I am not an attorney and I’m not giving legal advice or counsel. It is best to employ proper Tennessee legal counsel to divide your property assets. If you need a reference to an attorney, please ask me.
As you can imagine, divorce is time consuming, emotionally draining and can be very expensive. Once you’ve determined divorce is necessary, it is essential for you to hire 2 people sooner rather than later: 1. an experienced attorney to represent you in the divorce and 2. an experienced Realtor to list and sell your home in the shortest amount of time to alleviate the additional stress that comes from selling your home.
It is my recommendation that you do not attempt to quickly sell or deed the property before you file for divorce in an attempt to keep this portion of your shared life out of court and out of the divorce petition. This rarely works as successfully as you think it should. Please consult your attorney for the appropriate timeline to file for divorce and for the right time to list your home for sale.
Tennessee law is not always cut and dry when it comes to your home and how equity will be divided. A few common scenarios factored in when a judge determines property division: who has the larger income, who can afford sole ownership, who paid the downpayment, who is on the loan in relation to who made monthly payments, was property purchased before or after nuptials, who paid for renovations that resulted in increase in value, how is profit divided, who wants to keep the property. This is not an exhaustive list. It’s important you are able to produce documentation for the equity share you have in the property.
Takeaway: If you have property before your marriage, consider drafting a prenuptial agreement that addresses your property assets should your love head south. If there isn’t an agreement in place, all is not lost. Your attorney and your Realtor will work with you to give you the best advice to ensure property dissolution is handled most effectively for you and your spouse.
It may not feel like it right now, but you’ll get through this. Call me today and let’s discuss your selling or keeping the house situation.
Questions? Call me @ (615) 977-8444