Question:
My wife wants a divorce and we currently have our house up for sale. I put down about 100K on the house when we bought it and that money was from the sale of some inheritance property I had. The problem is that my wife wants us to do our divorce through some online website and split everything we have 50/50, including the house.
Because of the slow real estate market, we have already lowered our sale price considerably and I would lose a lot of my down payment if we did a 50/50 split. If we could get a good price for the house, I’d be alright with doing a 50/50 split. We owe 365K and the sale price of the house right now is 559K. I just want to get close to my original investment back and she can have the rest. What should I do?
Answer:
You should consult with a licensed attorney and realtor in the state of Washington to see what options you may have. You may have options such as keeping the house or renting it until the market to turn up. Be aware that she probably couldn’t care less that the money being lost is actually yours. However, if she is aware that the money being lost cuts into her portion, you may find that she will become more agreeable.
Erik H. Carter is a Senior Attorney of the Cordell & Cordell, P.C. office in Indianapolis, Indiana as well as the Litigation Manager of both the Indianapolis and Pittsburgh offices. Mr. Carter has practiced since 1993 as an attorney. He is licensed in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania as well as the Northern District of Indiana and the Southern District of Indiana.
