Program outlines real estate issues affecting divorcing clients

The number of divorces in Pennsylvania has declined over the last several years but Realtors® working with divorcing clients find the real estate transaction isn’t always a smooth one.

“It’s generally much more difficult to handle transactions when the clients are going through a divorce,” said Anne Litman Rubin, a broker with Century 21 Advantage Gold in Elkins Park. “Often the clients are adversarial,” she added.

Rubin said she finds the most challenging aspect is representing a couple as a unit. “It’s hard to represent them equally when they’re at odds,” she said. “You can’t join forces with one over the other, even though you may have contact with one more than the other. “

Overall, Rubin said divorcing clients are a small percentage of her business. “But when it’s nasty, it stands out in a big way,” she added.

As a Realtor® for more than 22 years, Rubin has seen her share of difficult divorce cases. She represented a battered wife who gave Rubin her power-of-attorney to sell her home. Rubin had to have contact with the ex-husband because the title company required proof that he was alive and the power-of-attorney was still valid.

She also worked with a divorced couple who could never be in the same room together. During settlement, the husband and wife were in separate rooms on different floors and someone had to shuttle the paperwork between them.

These challenges are one of the reasons that Carol Ann Wilson developed the Real Estate Divorce Specialist™ program. Wilson, president of the Financial Divorce Association, is a Certified Financial Planner based in Colorado and has been conducting pre-divorce financial consulting since 1985.

“There are specific tax laws for those going through divorces,” Wilson said. “Realtors® have divorcing clients all the time and it’s helpful if Realtors® are aware of how some of these laws affect their clients. If they have some knowledge about these tax issues, it makes the Realtor® a hero.”

The specialist program is a self-study program using four, one-hour DVDs along with a workbook.

In the video, Wilson addresses tax issues, three ways to divide the house, capital gains tax, using retirement plans as a down payment and protecting from malpractice.

Divorce and real estate attorney Gregg Greenstein explains legal issues like common law marriages, titling, waiting periods, divorcing tenants and comparative broker analysis.

“Two million people get divorced every year,” Wilson said. “That’s a huge market and many Realtors® have found it difficult to work with these clients. This information gives Realtors® the information to help make the process smoother.”