Can a Spouse Lease Out Rental Property During Divorce?

Divorced couples are able to own property together, but in doing so they must abide by the same rules any other business partners would. This means one partner must have the other’s permission to take any action with the property, whether that be renting it out, making improvements or selling it.

Keep in mind that any property acquired during the course of the marriage is considered marital property, regardless of whose name is on the title for that property. That means that even if your name isn’t on the title for a piece of rental property, that house is considered marital property if it was purchased during the course of the marriage. In addition, if you and your spouse took out a loan to pay for that property, you’d have signed a document in this process agreeing that you will both be held responsible for the monthly payments.

If your rental property was acquired during the marriage, all the rules associated with co-ownership of that property apply if you decide you will both maintain an ownership stake in that property after your divorce. You can, of course, decide that one spouse will take that piece of property as part of the divorce settlement, in which case the spouse who receives the property will be the sole owner and will not need to seek permission from the other spouse for any decisions and actions associated with that property.

Should you own property with your former spouse?

Most of the time, divorce attorneys will strongly recommend divorcing spouses avoid owning property together, unless they are absolutely certain they can function as a team in a business-like environment. Even then, there are never any guarantees the arrangement will work, just because there is bound to be some emotional difficulty associated with having a working relationship with a former spouse.

Ultimately, the decision is yours. For more information and guidance on what to do with your real estate during a divorce, speak with an experienced Long Island attorney at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.