Going through a divorce can be a hard experience, especially when there is a lot of fighting over how to split things up, such as the house. If you have decided to just let your spouse have the house through the divorce, you will have one less thing to fight about; however, there will be certain things that you should do to make sure you protect yourself and benefit from this. Here are two of the most important things.

Find out its value

When a couple gets divorced and divides a house between them, they must divide it in a way that is fair. This will require finding out the current market value of the house, and you can do this with an appraisal. An appraisal will tell you how much the house is worth, and you will then need to compare this to the current amount you owe on the house. The difference between these two amounts is the equity in the home, and each spouse will be entitled to 50% of the equity.

For example, if your house is worth $250,000 and you owe $180,000, there is $70,000 equity in the home. Through the divorce, you will be entitled to half of this, which is $35,000. Your spouse will need to find a way to come up with this money to buy you out of the house, and this is often done by either refinancing the house or getting a home equity loan.

Get your name off the house

Refinancing the home loan is usually the better option, because this option can be done in your spouse's name alone. In other words, when the refinance is complete, your name will no longer be on the loan.

If your spouse has cash to pay you for your equity portion in the home, he or she may not want to refinance; however, this is not a wise option. If your spouse leaves your name on the house loan, you will be legally obligated to make the payments, even though it is no longer your house. In addition, if your spouse stops making the payments on the home and the lender forecloses, it will appear on your credit report.

Because of this, you will need to fight to get your name off the loan, and your lawyer may suggest placing this requirement in the divorce decree with a time frame for your spouse to get this done. If your spouse does not complete it within the given time frame, you can take him or her back to court for contempt of court.

If you have any questions about how to handle things during a divorce, contact a firm such as Eschbacher Law.