My husband is filing for divorce. He wants me to continue living in the house w/ our small children while he retains ownership in half the house. I'm no accountant but this doesn't seem fair to me in the long-run. First, at some point my alimony will run out and I will have to cover the mortgage payments. It doesn't seem fair that if we sell the house in the future that he will automatically get 1/2 the proceeds from the profits while I get the net difference b/w the equity and the cost. For ex. (excluding taxes and selling costs) if I pay-off the $200K loan and I sell the house in 5 years for 800K, he will net $400K while in effect I will net only $200K (the difference b/w my share of the equity and the mortgage I had to pay off). Also, I feel this arrangement doesn't give me any security b/c at anytime in the future he can force me to sell. If the house sells now, at least I will have some alimony plus 1/2 of the full equity in the house. Does anyone else have experience with this or can give me some helpful suggestions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Most people suggest as you have stated, when one person cannot afford to buy the other out immediately, and it allows the children to stay in the home they are used to, thus reducing the stress of divorce upon them. It's for the kid's benefit.