What If My Spouse Stops Paying Mortgage During Divorce?

Divorces are often turbulent, leaving all parties craving a sense of stability throughout the proceedings. You might stay in your marital dwelling while your soon-to-be ex leaves or refuses to help with bills while living under the same roof. “What if my spouse stops paying the mortgage during a divorce?” you might wonder.

Lincoln & Wenk PPLC’s divorce lawyer in Phoenix, AZ, answers your question below. As with many divorce-related topics, the response isn’t always simple. Many factors determine who owns the property or covers late utilities.

Understanding How Community Property States Work

First, you must understand how Arizona courts view marital property. Arizona is a community property state. This means that a married couple jointly shares the majority or all assets acquired within their marriage, including:

  • Financial gains

  • Houses

  • Debts

Therefore, your shared house, bank accounts, cars, and other assets likely belong to you and your spouse. Some exceptions to the rule include assets you owned before marriage, inheritance, and gifts. In other words, you can keep the car Aunt Jennie gifted you, but you must split the house you and your spouse purchased according to the divorce court ruling.

Do not confuse Arizona’s community property approach with equitable distribution. Community property typically means that the courts will split shared assets down the middle, giving half to each party. Equitable distribution involves splitting the assets according to financial need or contribution.

How an Arizona Divorce Court Divides Residential Property

How does an Arizona divorce court typically divide jointly owned property? The court might give you a few different options:

  1. Sell the house. If neither party wants to keep the house, they can sell and divide the profits according to the court ruling.

  2. Buy out your ex. Perhaps you want to keep the property, but your ex wants to start a new life elsewhere. You can purchase their portion of ownership to put the property in your name only.

  3. Allow your ex to buy you out. If you want to move out and leave the marital property behind, you can let your ex-spouse purchase your portion of ownership instead.

  4. Bid to own the property. Sometimes, neither spouse can agree because both want to keep the property. The court allows each party to bid on the property until one caves on the cost. Then, the court awards the property to the highest bidder.

“But what if my spouse stops paying the mortgage during divorce? How do these routes apply to my situation?” you ask. Arizona divorce courts typically handle burdens like mortgage payments according to the circumstances surrounding one spouse not covering them.

What If My Spouse Stops Paying Mortgage During Divorce?

Both you and your spouse should continue paying the mortgage and other utility bills throughout the marriage and divorce proceedings, especially if that property could be considered marital or community property. You should also remember that one spouse cannot kick or force the other out of the shared property during the proceedings unless the court backs the decision. Thus, if your soon-to-be ex refuses or stops paying for their portion of the mortgage or bill payments, you have one of the following options.

Temporary Order Issuance

Some spouses might attempt to hold financial support and responsibility sharing over their partners’ heads. They withhold money to cover mortgages and other necessary expenses to prove a point or attempt to manipulate the other parties. You can request that the court issue a temporary order under such cases.

A temporary order mandates that your spouse continue providing financial support to maintain the household. This order might last until the court proceedings end and the judge rules on marital property division.

Reimbursement Request

Alternatively, you can seek reimbursement to cover the bills you paid by yourself. Some people mistakenly believe that vacating a shared property removes their financial responsibilities and alleviates them from current and future payments. However, exclusive use, or a single party using the shared property, still allows room for a reimbursement request.

However, a judge might reject your request if your spouse makes an ouster claim. If a spouse forcibly pushes the other spouse out of the property, the ousted spouse can defend themselves from reimbursements using this claim. The court might find that the ouster defense holds up.

The ousted spouse can offset their owed reimbursement via half of the property’s fair market rental value. The FMR refers to the estimated amount a tenant might pay to rent the property. Therefore, an ousted spouse might only owe half of the reasonable rental cost.

How the Arizona Court Awards the Houses of Divorcing Couples

After satisfying questions like, “What if my spouse stops paying the mortgage during divorce?” you might wonder whether you can receive full ownership of the property. What factors do Arizona courts use to determine post-divorce property division and ownership? How might a judge divide this community property?

Presence of Children

Children almost always factor into the court’s final decisions when awarding marital assets. If one parent has majority child custody, they will likely receive enough property to maintain stability. Parents with equal joint custody might challenge the courts on fair property division.

Divorcee Desire

Sometimes, marital property division is easy. One party might adamantly desire the house while the other wants a new living space. The judge may allow the party who desires homeownership to buy their ex-spouse’s portion of ownership.

Pre-Marital Status

Did you own the home before you got married? Perhaps you received it as a part of an inheritance at some point. Courts often consider this as separate property, meaning one party outright owns the asset. However, joint bank accounts for bill payments and property investments from both parties can complicate the ownership.

These funneled resources can give your spouse partial ownership of the property value. You might need a divorce attorney to assert or defend your rightful ownership of said property.

Court Bidding

Finally, some divorcing couples may have equal stakes in the marital home’s fate. Both parties might want complete ownership after finalizing their divorce. Therefore, the court might hold a bidding event in which the spouses bid the amount they can afford to buy out the other spouse.

These bidding wars can become ugly. However, many divorces that devolve into this property division route already have bitter feelings attached to them. If you can outbid your ex-spouse, you can have the house and land under your full control.

Should You Keep Your Marital Property?

Like many people struggling with divorce proceedings, you might idealize keeping marital property. Some people feel as though they have “won” a battle, with the asset as the prize. However, you should carefully consider what you can realistically shoulder in the near and distant future.

Meeting Expenses

Homeowners don’t simply cover the costs of the property’s value. They must also pay:

  • Utility bills: Every modern home needs electricity, running water, waste management, and other municipal connections. These conveniences keep houses safe, comfortable, and clean. Consider whether you can shoulder these expenses alone.

  • Repairs and upkeep: As buildings age, they require repairs to roofing, siding, and other networks. Otherwise, they can become a risk to their occupants and surrounding properties. Think about what your property might need in the near future and whether you have the funds to cover those maintenance needs.

  • Property taxes: Property taxes can change yearly. Some mortgage lenders include property taxes in the payments while others separate them. Ensure you can afford property tax payments long-term.

  • Insurance coverage: Finally, if you pay a mortgage, you likely have insurance coverage required by your lender. Can you cover the premiums to satisfy your policy and protect your property?

Don’t forget other daily expenses, like groceries, child care, and automotive expenses. If you can’t afford to maintain the property while balancing other finances, you might consider allowing your partner to buy you out. Alternatively, you could sell the property and split the profits as recommended by the court.

Protecting Your Safety

Some divorces occur because of volatile circumstances. For example, an abusive spouse might pose a threat to the other spouse’s well-being or life. If you find yourself in a situation where your abusive ex could easily access you and your property, you might ask yourself whether keeping the once-shared property is worth the stress.

Some victims of domestic violence situations might find more peace and stability by moving to a new location, especially when they take custody of their children. While stability might look like staying at the same residence to many people, some divorcees need a fresh start far away from their unpredictable ex to protect themselves and their families. Relocating and keeping your contact information private can present a challenging obstacle to a persistent and dangerous ex-spouse.

Navigate Your Divorce With Guidance From Lincoln & Wenk PLLC

You don’t need to keep asking, “What if my spouse stops paying the mortgage during a divorce?” Discuss action plans with Lincoln & Wenk PLLC in Phoenix, Arizona. We can guide you, whether you want to put off divorcing or move the proceedings faster. Call 623-294-2464 to discuss your options during a free consultation.

Call us at 623-294-2464 or contact us to schedule your consultation today.

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