What do YOu think your future plans will be if you divorce? Do you lOVE this house? Will you stay in the same town? Will you go back to school or change careers?
You DO need to find out about his pensions and 401ks. Your lawyer will help you with that, I'm sure.
look into recent real estate sales in your neighborhood. Prices are dropping many places, the house may not be worth as much as you think it is. Maybe it would only sell for, say, $85,000? Subtract selling costs, fix-it costs, other enticements to buyers like carpet allowance....maybe you'd only get $70-75,000 out of it...minus mortgage of $50,000....means just $20,000 - $25,000. That's the figure you need to compare to his retirement funds.
Now - if you like the house, and plan to stay in the area, you should probably fight for it - a $50,000 mortgage means a low house payment, probably as low or lower than rent. If it would be hard for you to buy a new house, that's another reason to hold on to it. How will you support yourself if you divorce?
