Divorce and your own home

If you get divorced, there are a multitude of money matters to deal with too. Especially if you have your own home, you will need to make arrangements. Who is going to remain in the family property? Will you need to sell the house? What options are there for the partner who leaves?

What happens to the house after the divorce As long as the house has not yet been sold or either one of you has not yet bought their share from the other person, you still own the house jointly. This means that you are still jointly and personally liable for the mortgage and therefore also jointly responsible for the payments of mortgage and interest. Even if you have made other mutual agreements about this and you have included these agreements in the divorce covenant. When the ownership of the home is transferred to the person who will keep living there, the other partner is eligible for a dismissal of joint debt liability. In effect, the partner who stays behind in the home buys the other half of the house. The other half was already his/hers. For this ‘new’ purchase there are certain tax rules that apply, and sometimes the existing mortgage will need to be restructured. The mortgage lender will need to assess if the remaining partner is entitled to the changes and (possibly) an increase of the mortgage. Furthermore, the lender will need to give outright permission to indemnify the departing partner from personal liability.

Contact us

Our family mediators have in-depth knowledge of what should be included in the covenant on financial matters. We will provide clarity regarding your options and offer you a look at future possibilities. This is of course especially relevant if you have children. That is exactly the situation where you want a clear understanding and peace of mind regarding the living situation. However, the mortgage matters must be arranged by a specialist.

Hypotheek Visie & the Woonbelofte

We would like to refer you to the mortgage advisers of Hypotheek Visie. Hypotheek Visie has developed a special product for couples who are going to separate. The Woonbelofte. This allows you to quickly work out what financial possibilities you have in the new situation. It will help to make good agreements together. You can fill in the Woonbelofte yourself but we are also happy to help you with this.

For more information: Woonbelofte.nl Mediation Vision (only in Dutch)

View the example report of the Woonbelofte here  (only in Dutch)

How the Woonbelofte works

  • Request the Woonbelofte and fill in your personal details (only in Dutch)
  • An expert then gets to work with the information and calculates your possibilities
  • Based on the information provided, you will receive a report called ‘Woonbelofterapport’, checked by an expert, within a maximum of 48 hours, outlining what your options are.
  • After receiving the report, the expert will call you to go over the information so that everything is clear and you can ask questions. This way you know exactly what your possibilities are.
  • Do you know what you want? A mortgage advisor from Hypotheek Visie can help you with any follow-up steps, such as taking over the part of your (ex-)partner’s mortgage or buying a new house.
  • The report of the Woonbelofte is valid for 3 months. During a period of 2 years you can request an update.