Michigan residents who are considering divorce have a lot of little and big details that they need to figure out. Dividing a household into two is arduous work, and how it turns out in the end may not be how one thought it would be going into the dissolution process. Making the terms of a divorce settlement work can also prove challenging for some people. Divorce law attorneys often see one party looking for settlement terms that, in the long run, are unsustainable for them. A good example of this has to do with the marital home.
What will be done with the marital home? Will one spouse keep it? Will it be sold? What a couple wants to do with it is a very personal decision. If one chooses to keep it, though, he or she needs to be able to afford it.
An individual recently shared a story about keeping the marital home and taking full responsibility for the equity loan. As part of the divorce settlement, this individual was to refinance the loans so that the ex-husband’s name was removed from the accounts — releasing him of his financial obligation. Unfortunately, after the divorce was final, this person found refinancing the loans impossible. The ex in this story is now threatening contempt charges for failing to abide by the terms of the divorce settlement, as keeping his name on the accounts is damaging his credit.
At the end of the day, the ex-husband in this story has every right to take legal action against his former spouse. Divorce settlement terms, once set, are non-negotiable. Few things may be adjusted by filing modification requests. When it comes to the home, the spouse who keeps it needs to be able to afford it or sell it — unless other terms can be worked out.
It is easy to walk into divorce negotiations with a list of everything that one wants to keep. It is difficult to learn that one, due to financial reasons, probably should pass on keeping certain assets. With the assistance of a divorce law attorney, Michigan residents who are thinking about ending their marriages can really dig into the details of their situations and only work toward negotiating or litigating reasonable settlement terms.
