Family Law

The Bad Housing Market's Impact on Divorce Cases

By Ben Stevens

The housing market is terrible these days.  In fact, it is so bad that some couples who want to divorce are faced with the difficult and unpleasant decision to (a) postpone their separation/divorce until the housing market rebounds, (b) continue to reside together during the divorce because neither can afford to move until the house sells, or (c) sell the house now for much less that it may be worth.

I have had this exact situation arise in several cases over the last year or so, and it is a difficult problem to work through.  Fortunately, we can usually find a workable solution, but the fact remains that the down market is making an already tough situation that much more difficult for many people

The San Francisco Chronicle published an article a few months ago, "Breaking Up Is Harder to Do -- The Housing Bust's Influence on Divorce", that analyzed this exact situation.  I recommend it to anyone that is facing these issues.

Thanks to Alan R. Nye of the Maine Divorce Law Blog for his post about this subject.

Full post as published by SC Family Law Blog on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).