Divorce - What Should I do With My Funds?

[Daniel Pitner]

I'm going through a brutal divorce. 

Besides the heart break, there is a lot of stress associated with what to do with our properties. 

Right now my spouse wants to sell everything and split the equity. After realtor fees and capital gains we are looking at about each getting $280k. 

However, I would like to keep property.

My proposal was we each get 2 properties and have full autonomy on what to do with them. This way I avoid losing money on realtor fees in a forced sale AND I can assume some of our low interest rate loans (confirmed by my bank)

Which of the following would you do? 
1) cash out and split

2) Keep the property with lower equity and a 4% interest rate. Cashflows about $500 per month. If I do this I would get about $180k in cash. 

My other question is how would you invest the cashout? I know it's not a ton of money but I need to start rebuilding. 

[Greg Scott]

Sorry to hear about your situation.  I know from personal experience it is not fun.

I'd absolutely split up the properties.  Let her sell if she wants to sell and you hold if you want to hold. Don't forget that the sale of the property will generate a large capital gains tax next as early as next April if you sell this year.

I'd let the dust settle on the divorce before making any big financial commitments, like refinancing.