The house and the children

Staying in the house with the kids

Every parent asks it: can the kids stay in their rooms? Colorado lets you write almost any arrangement into the decree. Here is how a deferred sale works, what it costs on one income, and the honest test for whether the address is what the kids actually need.

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The tool

The deferred sale

One parent and the children stay until a trigger: graduation, a date, a remarriage. Both stay on the loan and title. Then it sells and splits.

The cost

Payment plus everything

Taxes, insurance, HOA, metro district and about 1 percent of value a year in repairs, on one income. Often double the mortgage.

The risk

Both credit reports, for years

One missed payment lands on both. Every term, including what happens on a miss, goes in the decree.

The alternative

Same schools, smaller house

Stability is routine and friends, not square footage. A move within the attendance area keeps most of what matters.

The short answer

You can stay. Write a deferred sale into the decree with the trigger date, who pays what, how carrying costs and improvements are credited at sale, what happens on a missed payment, who chooses the agent, and how proceeds split. Then run the one-income budget honestly. If the house takes more than a third of your take-home pay, or you cannot be pre-approved to carry it, a smaller home in the same school area is the decision that protects the kids.

What the decree must say for a deferred sale

The trigger: the youngest’s graduation, a date, remarriage or cohabitation, or a value target.
Who pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA and utilities, and whether those payments are credited back at sale.
Who pays repairs, with a cap, and how improvements are treated.
What happens on a missed payment: cure period, then a sale.
Who chooses the agent, the price rule, and the reduction schedule when it sells.
How the proceeds split, and whether the equity is valued at the decree or at the sale.
Who can refinance early and how the other is released.

The honest test

AffordabilityPayment, taxes, insurance, HOA, metro district and 1 percent of value a year for repairs, at or under a third of your take-home pay, with support counted only until its end date.

QualificationIf you will eventually refinance, a lender must be able to approve you alone. Ask before the decree, not at the deadline. What counts.

EntanglementYears of shared risk with your ex. Some couples manage it well. Many end up back in court over a furnace.

The kidsAsk them what they would miss. It is usually the friends, the school and the routine, not the house. All three survive a move within the attendance area.

Questions people ask

Can the judge order that I stay in the house with the kids?

A court can award exclusive use during the case and can approve or order a deferred sale at the decree if it is equitable. Most deferred sales are agreed, not imposed.

Does my ex still own half while I live there?

Yes, unless the decree transfers title. Both stay on title and the loan in a typical deferred sale, and the equity split is set by the decree.

What if I meet someone?

Cohabitation is a common trigger in the decree. Decide now whether it should be.

What if my ex stops paying their share?

The decree should say: a cure period, then the house sells. Your remedy against your ex is enforcement in the divorce court; the lender still reports both of you. Foreclosure and divorce.

Hard times, handled quietly

We have sold underwater houses, negotiated short sales and stopped foreclosure clocks for divorcing owners. Quietly.

A divorce with no equity, two incomes that just became one, and a lender who does not care about the decree is the file we see most in a down year. The Kenna divorce real estate team, led by Damon L. Chavez, Certified Real Estate Divorce Specialist, runs the numbers first and tells you the truth: sell, short sale, hold, or fight the foreclosure.

Your information stays with us. We will not contact you without your permission, and nothing here is logged to an account.

A written net sheet with the house sold, short-sold and kept

The Colorado foreclosure timeline against your court dates

A lender who will tell you the truth about a refinance on one income

The hotline, legal aid and fee-waiver numbers, free

Talk to the team, free

Where to go next

Plain-language education, not advice. Divorce Decisions is published by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a real estate team. Nothing here is legal, tax, lending or financial advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. Colorado law and lender rules change; confirm anything that matters to your case with a licensed Colorado attorney, a tax professional, and your lender. See our full disclaimer.

Call your Colorado divorce agent

Questions about the house, the deed or the decree?

Call us today to talk through your situation and how we can help. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree.

Call today 303-955-4220 Download the free divorce-home guide

Ask whether the house is realistic

Tell us the payment, your income after the split and the kids’ ages. We will send the all-in number for staying and for a smaller home in the same school area, free. Nobody is contacted without permission.

Call or text 303-955-4220

A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Prefer email? homes@kennarealestate.com