Staying together 
for ... the 
house

(Staff photo illustration)

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In today’s housing market, it’s no surprise that divorced couples no longer are fighting over who gets to keep the family home.

“It used to be just the opposite,” said Gunnar Gitlin, a veteran divorce attorney with the Gitlin Law Firm in Woodstock. “Now clients are saying ‘You take the house and the debt.’ ”  

Indeed, the recession and slumping housing market have had a profound effect on divorce proceedings in McHenry County. In these tough economic times, some couples are staying together for financial reasons despite marital discord. Many are seeking low-cost divorce options to save money. Others simply are giving up. 

Liz Wakeman, an attorney with Zukowski, Rogers, Flood and McArdle in Crystal Lake, was surprised when two clients filed for divorce, then quickly dismissed the civil case and decided to continue living together.

The situation is dire for some couples going through the divorce process, said Christopher Haaff of the Law Office of Christopher Haaff in Crystal Lake.

“I’ve had to tell people: ‘Emotionally you can’t afford to be married, but financially, you can’t afford to be divorced,’ “ he said.

For the past decade, the number of divorces in McHenry County has been fairly consistent. Each year since 1997, about 1,200 people have gotten divorced. As of Dec. 16, 1,182 people had filed for divorce in 2008. However, the divorce rate in the county has decreased, Haaff said.

“About the same number of people are getting a divorce each year, but the total population of the county has increased dramatically since 1997,” he said.

Economic woes aren’t expected to further lower the county’s divorce rate, but they could forestall some divorce proceedings. The slump in housing, however, could forestall some divorces, at least in the short term.

Since home prices have dropped so much and the market continues to fluctuate, it has become more challenging to determine how much a home is worth, said attorney Richard Flood with Zukowski, Rogers, Flood and McArdle.

“It’s difficult to determine the value in the current market,” he said. “Also, if the couple is forced to sell the home, that is taking longer.”

In a case where the home is to be sold, the proceeds of the sale often are used to find separate residences and pay off marital debt, Flood said.

On average, a single-family or attached home in McHenry County spends 245 days on the market before it is sold, said Donna Leahy, a real estate agent with Prudential First Realty in Crystal Lake.

During boom times, selling the house was no problem. In fact, one member of the couple  usually would buy the other member’s share of the home, Flood said.

“Now things are different with the tight credit markets,” he said.

In many cases, one partner no longer can get the financing to buy out the other, Flood said.

Divorce is a “gigantic lifestyle change that many people aren’t always prepared for,” Haaff said. That includes financial changes. The couple might be able to afford to keep the house, but apart, neither partner might be able to make it work.

More and more often, divorce is leading people to file for bankruptcy, attorney David Stretch said.

“Foreclosures have made everything more difficult; they are forcing more families into bankruptcy,” he said.

Stretch said he has had to advise some of his clients to file for bankruptcy even before trying to file for divorce.

Some couples might choose to hold off on getting a divorce for a while, waiting for the housing market to improve.

“That may work for a year or two, but not for the life of the 30-year mortgage,” Wakeman said.

To avoid expensive legal fees or a protracted civil case, many couples are asking for so-called collaborative divorces, Gitlin said.

As opposed to an adversarial divorce, in a collaborative divorce, the two attorneys work to settle the case outside of court, Gitlin said. Such proceedings usually are quicker and can cost about one-third less than a traditional divorce, Gitlin said. This approach generally works better with the friendly divorce and isn’t recommended for some situations, such as cases that involve domestic violence, he said.

Although it is more appropriate in cases where the couple are somewhat respectful, it can work in difficult situations, especially when the individuals realize it is quicker and cheaper, Gitlin said.

A collaborative divorce is more transparent; there is no discovery process, and usually both parties will sit down at the table for discussions right from the start.

“More people are looking for collaborative divorces, and they are looking at different options that might save them money,” Gitlin said.