Who gets what isn’t the only thing that can be a significant issue when it comes to marital property in a divorce. Another significant issue that can arise is whether to keep a given piece of property or sell it and divide the proceeds.
One class of asset this issue can often come up in connection to is real estate. One type of real estate married individuals sometimes have is a vacation property, such as a beach house or cabin.
When it comes to sell-or-keep decisions regarding vacation properties in a divorce, it can be important to carefully weigh the potential benefits of keeping the property with the potential costs and downsides of doing so.
There are a variety of reasons why a person who is going through a divorce in which a vacation property is part of the marital estate may want to have the property kept rather than sold. One is a desire for their adult kids to be able to use the vacation property in the future.
Keeping rather than selling a vacation property in a divorce, however, can lead to the person who gets the property in the divorce facing a variety of added costs down the line: such as maintenance/repair costs and taxes for the property. Also, when a vacation property is kept after a divorce in order to try to benefit one’s adult kids, there is a possibility the property could be a source of fights among the kids in the future.
Whether keeping or selling a vacation property would be the right call in a divorce depends on a divorcing couple’s goals and a wide range of other factors, such as the specifics of the property and the specifics of the couple’s family. Divorce attorneys can help individuals with determining what approaches regarding vacation properties in a divorce would best align with their goals.
Source: U.S. News & World Report, “How to Handle Investments When You Divorce,” Lou Carlozo, Nov. 16, 2015