Selling A Jointly Owned House with During Divorce In Georgia

Divorce is obviously a turbulent time for couples in Georgia, and it can be made even more difficult when the spouses have a jointly owned property that they need to sell. This task can often take a toll on the couple’s shared finances, especially if they are in a situation where emotions are running high and both parties are struggling to work towards a mutually beneficial outcome. The best way for these couples to sell their house during divorce in Georgia without digging a financial hole in legal fees is to understand the guidelines of joint ownership, how it can effect the selling process, and how they can work together long enough to both take their equity in the sale of their jointly owned home.

How To Know if Your Georgia Property Has Joint Ownership

The first step in figuring out how to sell a jointly owned Georgia property is to determine if your property is actually jointly owned in a legal sense. In Georgia, you can generally expect that you and your spouse’s shared home will be classified as marital property, and is therefore legally considered jointly owned during the distribution of assets. This is often true even if one spouse’s name is absent from the deed. For example, any Georgia property purchased during the marriage belongs evenly to both spouses, even if the house was purchased in only one spouse’s name. Even if a property was bought before the marriage, significant investments towards the home during the marriage (such as mortgage payments or major renovations) give both spouses a claim to the home’s equity. In both of these scenarios, each spouse is entitled to a portion of the proceeds from selling the marital property in Georgia, so it is considered jointly owned.

However, Georgia has exceptions. Certain laws stipulate that a house can be classified as separate property, and is therefore not jointly owned by both spouses. In Georgia, these claims must be proven in court with evidence, so keep that in mind if you are making separate property claims, and remember to account for the cost of any court fees.

Here are a few scenarios where a Georgia house can be considered separate property:

• A Georgia house can be classified as separate property if it was bought an fully paid off by one spouse before the marriage.
• A Georgia house can be classified as separate property if it was inherited by or gifted to only one of the spouses, either before or during the marriage.

However, Georgia’s legal process allows for either of these situations to be contested. If the spouse who does not own the house made significant contributions during the marriage, the home’s equity will be classified as marital property, so each spouse will be entitled to a share of that equity. Therefore, the property would be legally considered jointly owned.

Understand Your Share of the Property

Once you have figured out if your Georgia property is jointly owned between you and your spouse, the next step is to figure out how the shares in the property will be divided. Georgia is an equitable distribution state, which means that assets are divided fairly, rather than evenly, in a divorce situation. Because of this, you likely won’t have a perfect 50/50 split of shares in the home, unless you and your spouse agree on that division independently or with the aid of a mediator. This method provides you with much more flexibly when dividing your shared assets.

However, if the matter is taken to court, the division of assets is usually individualized based on the situation of the divorcing couple, though it is primarily determined by Georgia’s division laws. A Georgia court will take several factors into account when determining each spouse’s share of their jointly owned property:

• The total value and equity of the property
• Any remaining debts or mortgage payments on the property
• The physical and financial contributions of both spouses to the marital home
• The age and health (physical and mental) of each spouse
• The financial circumstances of each spouse
• Each partner’s income and earning capacity
• The reasons for the separation and divorce
• The custody of any children

These factors will the lead the court to decide on an equitable division of the marital home, and the funds from selling the house will then be divided according to that ratio.

Decide on a Selling Method

There are many different methods to consider when deciding to sell your jointly owned property during divorce in Georgia. The best method for your situation depends on what factors you and your spouse want to prioritize, such as speed, profit, or convenience.

Buying shares from one another

If you find yourself in a situation where one spouse wants to sell the Georgia property but the other wants to retain it, the quickest option may be for one spouse to buy out the other’s legal interest, so the property will no longer be held under joint ownership. This is a relatively simple process that can involve a cash payment or an equal trade of assets, as well as a title transfer if necessary. If you are unsure of how to handle this situation, we recommend contacting a Georgia divorce attorney to make sure the legal and equitable transfer of assets goes smoothly.

Listing the home together

If both parties are looking to sell their Georgia house, then it will up to them to decide the best selling method for their jointly owned property. There are a lot of different options that are viable in Georgia’s market, such as listing as-is or selling for sale by owner, but the most common home-selling method is listing your property with a Georgia realtor. Even with the professional aid of an agent, and even in Georgia’s seller’s market, this can be a long and difficult process; for example, 55 days on the market is the median for homes in Georgia, which doesn’t account for the 1-3 months of time added for preparing the house and closing with the buyer. This can be especially difficult in a divorce situation, where you and your spouse will have to decide who handles which investments and responsibilities during the home-selling process.

First, you will need to make sure that your jointly owned property is market-ready. This can involve simple work, like refreshing curb appeal or decluttering, but it can also require larger projects, like HVAC replacement or new plumbing. Your agent or a professional appraisal can tell you which projects may be necessary or might simply give you a better chance of selling quickly in your local market. It will be up to you and your spouse to decide how the split the cost of these investments. You will also have to decide who will declutter, if the property needs to be staged, if someone will live in the property while it is being shown to prospective buyers, and who will keep the house tidy for showings, among other things. One or both of you will need to communicate these decisions to your agent, and also stay in contact with the agent in order to learn about when showings are scheduled and if any buyers are interested.

Once offers start rolling in, you have another choice: will you take the first offer, or will you hold out for a higher offer to increase your profits? This decision may depend on how much you invested in getting your property market-ready, or it may depend on what you and your spouse decide to prioritize at this stage: speed, profit, or convenience. Once you decide on an offer and the deal goes through, hopefully without being stopped or slowed by any closing delays, you and your spouse should be able to split the profits according to the shares of your jointly owned property that were previously determined by you or the court.

Selling to a professional homebuyer

Another option for selling your jointly owned property in Georgia is to seek out a direct sale with a professional homebuyer. These companies buy local properties as-is with cash payments. Their process allows you to approach them directly for a cash offer on your property. If you accept, you usually have the opportunity to close within a month, if not sooner, and walk away with cash in your hand. This means no repairs, no cleaning, and no commissions are necessary on your part.

One thing to be aware of when considering selling to a professional homebuyer in Georgia is that, while the offer your receive from these companies will still be in the home’s fair market value, it will likely be on the lower side. This is because you will not be investing in repairs to bring the property to its full value, and you will also not have to pay realtor commissions or closing costs, which are usually factored in to a property’s final selling value. If profit comes second to ease and convenience for you and your spouse, seeking out a reputable professional homebuyer might be the best option.

Summary

Selling a jointly owned property during divorce in Georgia can seem stressful and difficult, but with the right understanding about the legal implications of joint ownership and the division of assets in our state, your and your spouse have all the tools necessary to work together towards offloading your property, splitting your shares, and moving on.