Continuing to Live with Your Ex After Divorce

 Posted on March 28,2019 in Divorce

Leaving your marital home after your divorce can be difficult for both personal and financial reasons. Personally, you may no longer be living with your children and will see them less often. Financially, you will need to pay for a new home after previously investing in your marital home. If you think it would be easier to continue to live in your marital home with your former spouse, understand that there is a precedent for this living arrangement. However, you will need to settle legal issues and figure out how you can live separately within the same home.

How It Works

Divorcees who stay in the same home choose their own living areas where they can have privacy from each other. They can create a schedule for when they will use common areas, such as the kitchen. As part of the divorce agreement, they can clarify who is responsible for:

• Upkeep of the home;
• Purchasing food;
• Paying bills; and
• Deciding on changes to the home.

If they have children in the home, they will need a parenting agreement to determine when each parent will be responsible for the children. The schedule may look similar to one that the parents would have created if they were living separately.

Legal Questions

Even if you continue to live together after divorce, your marital home is still a major asset that you must include in your division of property. There are several legal questions that you must answer as part of your shared living arrangement, such as:

• Will you share ownership of the marital home?;
• Will you have legal possession over certain rooms?;
• Will you share mortgage payments and, if so, how will they be divided?;
• Which of you will be able to claim a tax deduction on the mortgage payments?;
• Will you put a time limit on the living arrangement?;
• What will happen if one of you leaves the home voluntarily?; and
• How will the proceeds be split if you decide to sell the home?

Living together may also affect your child support and spousal maintenance payments. It may be unnecessary to include money in the payments meant for expenses that you already share.

Contact a DuPage County Divorce Attorney

Living with your former spouse after divorce may be impractical if you have a contentious relationship or your home is not large enough to accommodate separate living areas. A Naperville, Illinois, divorce attorney at Calabrese Associates, P.C., can discuss whether cohabitating is feasible and what it would entail. Schedule a consultation by calling 630-393-3111. 

Source:

https://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/relationships/advice/a14116/living-with-an-ex-after-divorce/