Keeping the family home is a common divorce mistake

Getting divorced in New Jersey can certainly be emotionally challenging. However, it can also be financially difficult, and unfortunately, the wrong moves can have long-term repercussions. Here is a look at one commonly made financial mistake to avoid during an upcoming divorce proceeding: keeping the family home.

The reality is, it can be detrimental for a divorcing spouse to keep the house. Divorcing parties may want to keep the home because they have spent years pouring both sweat equity and money into the home. In addition, they may have reared their children in that home.

The challenge with keeping the marital home, though, is that the spouse who keeps it will likely have to finance it with just one income rather than two incomes. In this situation, he or she can quickly become house poor. The disadvantage of this is that other monetary needs may end up being neglected, such as building an emergency savings, saving for the children’s college expenses or saving for retirement. In addition, trying to keep up with the monetary costs of upkeeping the home may prove to be exhausting on a single income.

The financial aspect of a divorce proceeding can understandably be complicated to navigate. However, an attorney in New Jersey can provide divorcing parties with the guidance they need to make the best financial decisions possible when it comes to issues such as property division. The attorney’s chief goal is to protect his or her client’s rights and best interests during each stage of the divorce proceeding.