Sadly, more and more often, one reason a family contemplates selling their home is because of the possibility of divorce. There are not many families who can continue to provide the same lifestyle for their family by simply adding a second household within the same school district when parents decide they can no longer live together.

In most cases, the marital residence is too expensive for the custodial parent to maintain and the parent moving out also needs to be "cashed out" for the financial part of the divorce. In the old days, when things were going well, there was enough equity in the home, savings and retirement to divide assets. The home could be refinanced and the non-custodial parent took his or her share and moved out.

More recently, there is little or no equity in the home and neither parent can afford the home alone.  Now it is more common for the parent with the kids to move to a smaller house and the other parent hopes to maintain an apartment nearby. A tough decision all around.

Because there may be few proceeds to fight over or divide, some parents are finding a way to make the marital home work for one parent and avoid the selling costs, moving and emotional hassle for the children. After weighing all the options, and for many other reasons, most homes still eventually need to be sold.

Please call me if you find yourself in this tough situation. We will look at the condition of the home, repairs and improvements needed if you sell or stay, comparable home prices and rental prices in the area and other areas you might be considering and make a list of the options. I help several families every year with these decisions--calmly, discreetly and logically. I have been in your shoes and can share many successful scenarios.

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