How to handle the mortgage in a New Jersey divorce

When you and your New Jersey spouse take out a mortgage together, both of you maintain responsibility for that mortgage even if you divorce, unless you make other arrangements. Even if your divorce decree dictates that only you or only your ex has to pay the mortgage, your lender may feel otherwise and still hold both parties responsible for the mortgage debt.

Per the Motley Fool, to get around this, you may want to take one of two common steps when it comes to handling your mortgage after a split.

Option 1: Sell the home and split the profits

Unless you are dealing with a particularly bad real estate market, give some thought to placing your once-shared home on the market. When someone buys it, you and your ex may pay off the old mortgage debt and then split whatever remains between you. This should give you a nice little nest egg to use in the future and may come in handy in your hunt for a new place to live.

Option 2: Have one of you refinance the mortgage

If one of you wants to buy out the other party and keep the family home you once shared together, that party has the option of attempting to qualify for a new mortgage on his or her own. If this works, the party who wants to keep the house may refinance and free up enough money to buy out the other.

If the party who wants to keep the home is unable to qualify for a new mortgage alone, you may need to revisit selling the home.