Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Joint ownership of home - Property tax.!

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Joint ownership of home - Property tax.!

    Hi...

    This is a question that I am hoping that Lindsay could answer for me.
    I am attempting to pursuade my spouse to draft our own Separation Agreement, maybe via a paralegal, but it's difficult when you can not agree on some of the financial matters like home value and joint/no-joint debt.
    For me, I see it simply as crunchng some numbers as:
    ((Assets(home) - debt / 2 + PENSION VALUE) = Possible buy-out figure.)!. Is the debt not considered 50/50 in a court of law.? Proving "unequal equalization" or reckless spending is a very difficult & costly thing to try to do.

    Since we are joint owners of the house and both work is the property tax on the house not considered a joint matter. We have property taxes outstanding for 2006 on our home which I am more then willing to pay my share. Is my spouse not obligated to pay her share.

    Regards

  • #2
    Hi wmike,

    I feel very special!

    Drafting your own separation agreement can definitely be tough, but if you go through things carefully, you should be fine. Please also consider obtaining independent legal advice. ILA is most effective with both parties obtain this service.

    In case you need it, Jeffrey provides a clear explanation of division of property here. In a nutshell though, each party has a 50% interest in all joint assets, and each party has a 50% responsbility in all joint debts.

    So, if the property tax account is registered under both your and your spouse's names, she is responsible for 50% of the debt. If, however, the debt is in your name alone, you are responsible for 100% of the liability. Unfortunately, the fact that the home is jointly held is irrelevant.

    While you're entitled to request an unequal division in the value of the joint accounts, you're right... this can be difficult if it is disputed. If you are still fairly amicable and the unequal division issue isn't over a lot of money, it may be best to keep things friendly and try and finalize the agreement. It really depends on what you're comfortable with.

    I hope that helps!
    Lindsay
    Last edited by Lindsay; 07-12-2006, 04:41 PM.

    Comment

    Our Divorce Forums
    Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
    Working...
    X