When Couples Split, Who Gets the House?(June 5, 2006) --

Traditionally, when a couple divorces, the woman keeps the house and the man gets something else – like the pension plan. But with rising home prices, that split can be hard to manage on a single salary.

Divorcing spouses have three basic choices: sell the residence and split the proceeds; one spouse keeps the house, usually by buying out the other; or one spouse remains in the home for a set period before selling, to allow the youngest child to graduate from high school, and then splits the proceeds with the ex.

Any of these choices can be the right (or the wrong) one, depending on a family’s financial situation. Bur relying on child support and/or alimony to pay the mortgage is rarely a good idea, says Donna Strachan, a certified divorce planner with the Financial Planning Group in Irvine, Calif., because neither payment lasts forever.“Some women years after divorce are still trying to recover. It all goes back to the first choices they made,” says Strachan.


Source: Orlando Sentinel, Ann Perry, 06/04/2006)