Real Estate in Oregon Divorce Mediation
Many clients have owned one or more homes during their marriage. For many people, it is the most valuable piece of their marital estate.
For some, it may also be the most expensive to maintain, so deciding whether to sell, rent out, live in, or refinance the property is an important discussion. Matthew will help you sort out all of your options and consider the pros and cons of each. The goals, of course, are to:
1. Ensure the home is affordable to the spouse who lives in it.
2. Ensure that each spouse receives an appropriate share of the equity to be divided.
3. Minimize the impact of any capital gains taxes (rare when it was the primary residence just prior to the divorce)
4. Time the sale appropriately to achieve maximum value (if the property will be sold)
5. Manage the division of the expenses of the property until it is sold or transferred
As with many other aspects of family law, what to do with a house upon divorce also presents many opportunities. You should keep in mind that you have more options than you may believe you have. Matthew can help you structure how to keep the house for a period of time until you sell it, if you do not intend to put it on the market immediately. If you need to occupy the home with your former spouse during a transitional period, Matthew will help the two of you agree on conditions that will allow that transition to proceed in harmony.
For various reasons -- such as to save money, preserve the home of the children for an extended time, or to wait for the home to increase in value -- some divorcing couples choose not to sell their marital home immediately but plan to do so in the relatively near future (several years, maximum). How they share the expenses of the home during that interim period, and whether to fix the home's value at the time of separation or at the time of sale has considerable room for negotiation. Matthew will bring a multitude of examples developed over 12 years of family law mediation practice.
Matthew also has a well-developed network of real estate professionals (real estate agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, and others) who can assist you and Matthew in formulating plans that will achieve your goals and protect the value of your assets.
Also, with the current structure of the capital gains tax, it is very unusual for individuals to face any capital gains tax on the sale of their primary residence. The primary reason is that the house usually has not appreciated by a large enough amount to exceed the capital gains tax exemption. If it is calculated that your home has appreciated so much since the day you bought it that you may have to pay capital gains tax if one of you retains the home and sells it at a later date, Matthew will explain to you what you would owe and how you might want to make a different decision now to minimize or eliminate that capital gains tax issue.
As with anything else in family law, the after-tax value of an asset is what matters. If an item of property has a tax obligation attached to it, even if it's not due right now, it isn't actually worth the full amount that an account statement or property appraisal says. It's worth that amount minus any taxes that must be paid. Matthew will help you calculate whether there are any taxes that may apply to keeping or selling your real estate or any other marital or separate property.
For some, it may also be the most expensive to maintain, so deciding whether to sell, rent out, live in, or refinance the property is an important discussion. Matthew will help you sort out all of your options and consider the pros and cons of each. The goals, of course, are to:
1. Ensure the home is affordable to the spouse who lives in it.
2. Ensure that each spouse receives an appropriate share of the equity to be divided.
3. Minimize the impact of any capital gains taxes (rare when it was the primary residence just prior to the divorce)
4. Time the sale appropriately to achieve maximum value (if the property will be sold)
5. Manage the division of the expenses of the property until it is sold or transferred
As with many other aspects of family law, what to do with a house upon divorce also presents many opportunities. You should keep in mind that you have more options than you may believe you have. Matthew can help you structure how to keep the house for a period of time until you sell it, if you do not intend to put it on the market immediately. If you need to occupy the home with your former spouse during a transitional period, Matthew will help the two of you agree on conditions that will allow that transition to proceed in harmony.
For various reasons -- such as to save money, preserve the home of the children for an extended time, or to wait for the home to increase in value -- some divorcing couples choose not to sell their marital home immediately but plan to do so in the relatively near future (several years, maximum). How they share the expenses of the home during that interim period, and whether to fix the home's value at the time of separation or at the time of sale has considerable room for negotiation. Matthew will bring a multitude of examples developed over 12 years of family law mediation practice.
Matthew also has a well-developed network of real estate professionals (real estate agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, and others) who can assist you and Matthew in formulating plans that will achieve your goals and protect the value of your assets.
Also, with the current structure of the capital gains tax, it is very unusual for individuals to face any capital gains tax on the sale of their primary residence. The primary reason is that the house usually has not appreciated by a large enough amount to exceed the capital gains tax exemption. If it is calculated that your home has appreciated so much since the day you bought it that you may have to pay capital gains tax if one of you retains the home and sells it at a later date, Matthew will explain to you what you would owe and how you might want to make a different decision now to minimize or eliminate that capital gains tax issue.
As with anything else in family law, the after-tax value of an asset is what matters. If an item of property has a tax obligation attached to it, even if it's not due right now, it isn't actually worth the full amount that an account statement or property appraisal says. It's worth that amount minus any taxes that must be paid. Matthew will help you calculate whether there are any taxes that may apply to keeping or selling your real estate or any other marital or separate property.