How to Split Your Vacation Home after a Divorce

A vacation home tends to symbolize not only financial success but also a commitment to spending time together as a family in a beautiful spot that is meaningful to you personally. If you’re facing a divorce, the matter of your vacation home can be especially challenging in relation to both its financial value and emotional importance. 

It’s necessary to recognize, however, that you do have options, and a seasoned Chicago divorce attorney with considerable experience successfully handling challenging property division concerns can help you explore yours.

The Division of Your Marital Property

In Illinois, marital assets – or those assets you came to own while married – must be divided between you fairly and equitably upon divorce. Fair and equitable in this context can take many different forms, and a wide range of factors goes into the division process. While assets owned by either of you prior to marriage and kept separate throughout marriage will remain your own, a vacation home that you purchased while married is almost certainly considered a marital asset. 

Selling Your Vacation Home

The fact is that divorce is likely to leave both of you less financially well off, and neither of you may be able to afford your vacation home on your own. If this is the case – or if neither of you is invested in owning the home individually – your best option may be to sell the property and allocate the funds between you. There are, however, potential complications to consider, including:

• The time of your divorce may not be great for selling in relation to the market.
• It may take a considerable amount of time to sell your place. 
• Reaching a mutually acceptable asking price or agreeing to a purchase offer can be a challenge.

Buying Out the Other

If one of you is more emotionally invested in keeping the vacation home, is better positioned to do so financially, or needs to be bought out in relation to the value of another asset, buying out the other spouse’s ownership may be a viable option. It’s naturally important to have a mutually acceptable value assigned to the property and to proceed accordingly. If, for example, you have your heart set on keeping your vacation home to continue enjoying with your children and grandchildren into the future, you may be able to accomplish this by offering your spouse their share in its equity via another marital asset. 

Sharing the Property

Even if you and your divorcing spouse are not going to be going on vacation together any time soon, sharing a vacation property may not be a terrible idea. You can take your vacations separately while keeping the home in your family, which affords you the option of reevaluating your options with the passage of time. 

Seek the Legal Guidance of an Experienced Chicago Divorce Attorney Today

The savvy Chicago divorce attorneys at WARD FAMILY LAW, LLC, have the legal insight and compassion to help you identify the best option for you and your children in relation to your vacation home. Learn more by contacting us today.