Selling a House During Divorce in Connecticut
We at Valley Residential Group LLC know how stressful it can be to face divorce, not just the emotional aspect of this experience but also all of the associated divorce paperwork, court proceedings, and so on. Often included in all of that is deciding what to do with your Connecticut house. Should you keep it? Should your spouse? Or do you want to sell your real estate?
Regardless of what you and your spouse decide is best or even if you’re struggling to figure out what to do with your property, we can help you learn how this all works in Connecticut and what you can do.
How Does Selling Your House During a Divorce Work in Connecticut?
Following these steps will help you ultimately have a sold house and be able to move on from this stressful time of change. That said, take note of the details to ensure that you’re going about this in the manner that’s best for all parties involved. In particular, taking care of the first step will help a lot as you’ll then have someone else assisting you in ensuring that all of those specifics are being handled.
Of course, going through an uncontested divorce will greatly simplify this experience, as well as other elements of the divorce process, such as who will receive custody of any children in your family. Regardless, simply being on courteous terms and being comfortable communicating with each other will help a lot. In that latter case, you two may be able to negotiate a beneficial agreement for both sides.
Step 1: Find a Divorce Attorney in Connecticut
Getting a divorce attorney isn’t absolutely required, but it’s recommended for most sellers in your situation. The value of doing so is especially clear if you desire assistance in ensuring that all of the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted, you want advice about what to do, or you and your spouse aren’t in agreement about what to do with your Connecticut house or other important things.
Also note that if you do get a divorce lawyer, they should not be the same one that your spouse is consulting to ensure that there’s no conflict of interest.
Step 2: Determine Who Owns the Real Estate
It’s not always a simple process when determining who owns this piece of Connecticut real estate that’ll be sold or, for that matter, who owns any of the property that you two possess.
In many other states, it’s important to understand the difference between “marital property” and “separate property,” which essentially means that your assets are owned jointly or separately. That’s not the case in Connecticut, which is defined as an “all property” state – i.e. essentially, everything’s jointly owned.
So, the court will decide who will own your house, whether wholly or in part, once your divorce is finalized.
An exception is possible, but this must have already been in place prior to you and your spouse getting a divorce. A prenuptial agreement can define what’s marital property and what’s separate property and then have that enforced by the Connecticut divorce court instead of what it’d usually do when spouses split up.
Note that regardless of whether or not a prenup was made, possibly complicating this step would be issues related to outstanding mortgages or even an impending foreclosure.
Step 3: Decide How You Want to Sell the Property
Some thought needs to go into deciding how to sell your Connecticut house.
Many who are experiencing a divorce and need to sell their home utilize the services of a real estate professional. This works fine for some sellers, but make sure to take into account the pros and cons of doing this. For example, although a seller will likely receive a higher payment in the end when a realtor’s been used, it may not be worth the time, expenses, and headaches that accompany that. Hassles for sellers in this situation include cleaning and repairing your home so that it’s presentable for open houses, which can be quite costly, and then having strangers going through your property when you hold those open houses. You might also need to work with your spouse throughout this intensive part of the selling process, which you may want to avoid doing.
Selling your Connecticut house on your own is another option. This is similar to using an agent, but you’d be handling all of the steps that an agent would instead be doing if you’d taken advantage of one. This is usually not recommended for most sellers, but if you understand what you’re getting yourself into or if it’ll be an especially simple sale, such as to someone whom you both know and trust, it can work out fine.
Alternatively, an easy way to sell your home fast is with the help of a We Buy Houses business. That’s where Valley Residential Group LLC can come in. All that you’d need to do in this scenario would be to let us know where your home is, consider our guaranteed cash offer, accept it, and finalize the sale of that house. If you do this, you might even have our cash in your hands as fast as seven days from when you contact our professional homebuyers. Taking advantage of this cash sales option means that you wouldn’t have to list your home with the MLS, clean it, repair what’s broken inside of it, or even remove its contents before you sell it. Just make sure to grab what you two want to keep, accept our cash, and move on with your lives. We’ll take care of the costly renovations.
Step 4: Sell the House
Regardless of your specific path to this point and whether or not you needed to go back a step or two and then forward again in order to get to now, it’s time to officially be sellers, to sell your house.
You’ll usually need to complete this sale at a reputable closing company, which is a step of the sales process that Valley Residential Group LLC will be glad to handle for you, even taking care of the closing costs before handing you our cash payment.
Step 5: Divide the Proceeds From the Sale
The specifics of dividing the proceeds from the sale of your Connecticut home will depend on the divorce court’s decision of how all of your real estate, money, and other assets should be disseminated while taking into account that Connecticut’s an equitable distribution state.
Divorce court judges here do their best to decide on a fair division of the total assets, which will usually not result in an attempt to make it an exact 50-50 split. Amongst the factors considered when deciding how much value goes to each person are the approximate percentages of that property that were contributed by each person as well as their past, present, and future incomes and debts. Also taken into account are things like how long the marriage lasted and why it’s ending.
Of course, if you and your spouse have agreed on how to divide the proceeds from the sale of this Connecticut house, that’ll take precedence over any potential court decision.
Who Gets the House in a Divorce in Connecticut?
If both of you want to own the house separately and aren’t in agreement on who that should be, the court will decide who gets it as part of its process of issuing your divorce decree and finalizing the end of your time as a couple in the legal sense.
Because Connecticut is an “all property” state, the relevant divorce law states that it’s even possible for a house that one party had owned in full prior to getting married to then be awarded in its entirety to the other.
Meanwhile, if you and your spouse agree on who should get the house, the court will usually give it to that person.
Should I Sell Before or After Divorce?
If you and your spouse agree that the home should be sold, whether for cash or otherwise, before you embark on the divorce process, this earlier selling timeline may be the best option. One of the reasons why is that you won’t feel as pressured to sell it fast, and you won’t be dealing with other divorce-related issues at the same time that you’re acting as a home seller.
Conversely, if you’re in disagreement on what to do with your home, selling it after your divorce is finalized will probably be a better solution. Once you get to that point, it’ll be clear who owns the house, and, assuming that it’s just one of you, that person can then decide if there should be a sale of it without worrying about whether or not the other agrees with their decision.
Who Gets To Stay in the House During Divorce in Connecticut?
Since Connecticut is an “all property” state, both you and your spouse usually have the legal right to remain in the home during the divorce process.
Of course, whoever’s awarded the house once the divorce is finalized will then have sole say in this, meaning that, at this point, the owner will need to give their permission for the non-owner to reside there.
Alternatives To Selling During Divorce in Connecticut
There are some alternative solutions that you two could take advantage of instead of having a sale of your home. However, note that each of these usually requires spousal or court approval.
Co-Own the Property
One option is to have the two of you essentially treat your home as part of an “all property” situation that continues beyond the finalization of your divorce – i.e., co-own the house. Sharing the home in this manner can result in you living there together, just one of you residing there or perhaps neither of you at the house, and both deciding to rent it out to others and splitting the income from that rental situation.
If you don’t act as a seller, if you don’t have a sale of your home and instead co-own it, do take care of the details as far as how related expenses will be handled. These can include paying utilities, taxes, maintenance, and insurance. This information should be in your divorce settlement.
Also, keep in mind that this path will usually result in you two needing to remain in communication for the foreseeable future, something that some divorcees don’t want to experience.
Buy out the Other Spouse
One person could buy out the other in order to gain sole ownership of the house if doing so is approved by the selling spouse or divorce court. Refinancing could play a role in this.
Divide the Marital Assets
It’s often also a viable option to simply give one party the house – no sale of the home necessary – as part of a fair distribution of the marital assets with the other person receiving non-house assets.
Divorce House Sale Connecticut FAQs
Can I sell the house before the divorce is final?
If you’re in the process of finalizing a divorce, it can be complicated to sell your Connecticut home at this time, but it’s possible. That said, you should ensure that you receive the court’s approval or the go-ahead from your lawyer before doing a house sale.
Is Connecticut a 50-50 divorce state?
No, Connecticut isn’t a 50-50 divorce state. It’s both an equitable distribution state and an “all property” state, the former meaning that there’s usually not an even 50-50 split of the assets, and the latter referring to how all of a marriage’s assets are normally deemed to be jointly owned.
How does capital gains tax work in a divorce?
If it’s ultimately decided, whether by you two or the court, to keep the marital home’s title in one or both of your names, capital gains taxes usually won’t apply. Conversely, if that house is ultimately sold to a third party, then any gain in that property’s value between the time that it was purchased and its divorce-related sale will usually have a capital gains tax applied to it.
In Connecticut, this percentage will range from 3-6.99.
How do I sell my house if my spouse refuses?
There’s not usually anything that you can do prior to the finalization of your divorce if you want to sell your home but your spouse doesn’t. The main exception occurs if you have a legally binding prenup agreement that specifically states that the house is owned by only you; then, you can complete a sale of it on your own. Otherwise, if you’re the only one who wants to sell your home, you’ll normally need to wait for the court’s decision awarding that house to you to then finalize the sale of it, even if your name’s the only one that’s signed on the real estate’s title, more specifically on its deed.
Easiest Way To Sell a House During a Divorce in Connecticut
If you’d like to sell your house during your divorce fast for cash, consider the services that Valley Residential Group LLC offers. We’ll provide a simple cash sales process that’ll be especially appreciated if the rest of your divorce experience is complicated and stressful.
More specifically, our cash solution removes so many headaches, partially because we purchase properties from sellers in as-is condition. No costly repairs are necessary to complete a sale, and you don’t have to clean anything. In fact, you can leave anything that neither of you wants to keep inside of your house, and we’ll take care of it after the sale is finalized. In addition, you won’t pay any fees; there won’t be any payments for realtor fees, cleaning fees, or closing costs. And you won’t have to worry about whether a potential buyer will be able to receive financing from lenders; we’ll use cash that’s on hand to buy your home in full.
We’re also proud of our knowledge of the entire Constitution State. Yes, we’ve worked in cities such as Hartford, North Haven, Burlington, and Manchester.
To reach us, learn more about what we offer, and see if we might be a perfect match as you decide how to sell your home while navigating divorce proceedings, call us at (860) 589-4663 or send a message through our website at Valley Residential Group LLC. We look forward to hearing from you.