Who Will Keep the House in My Divorce?

One of the most contentious aspects of many divorces tends to be the asset division process. Some couples are able to negotiate through this process rather amicably, coming to arrangements that work for both parties. However, there are some circumstances in which couples agree on little to nothing at all with regard to how their assets will be split in the divorce decree. The problems tend to be especially exacerbated with regard to particularly valuable assets, such as vehicles and real estate.

Therefore, you might be wondering what will happen to a home you own with your spouse in a divorce. It’s common for houses owned by couples to be the subject of disputes during divorces—after all, there are many emotional attachments to these houses, especially if you have been living there for years and raised children there. It’s important to keep your eyes on your post-divorce goals and not lose track of your financial situation—it might not make much sense for you to attempt to hang on to the house even if you have the option of doing so.

Regardless, there will be a variety of factors that influence whether or not you will be allowed to keep your family home. Here are some common situations in divorces and how they often play out for home ownership. Your divorce attorney in Miami, FL can provide you with more information for your specific case.

You have children and will have full physical custody

Courts want to provide as little disturbance to children’s lives as possible, and thus will attempt to prioritize keeping children in the home they already know and are accustomed to if that is going to be a feasible option. Therefore, the court will likely wish for the parent who has full physical custody of the children to keep the family home to provide some stability to the child.

Again, this is not necessarily a financially realistic option for every parent with custody of their children, but you would likely get priority concerning the home in such a scenario.

You do not have children and owned the home before you got married

Assets you purchase or own before you get married are normally considered separate assets rather than marital assets, meaning they are not subject to the property division process. Therefore, if you already owned the home by yourself before the home purchase, you would normally be able to keep the home after the divorce, without your spouse having a claim to the property.

However, if you later added your spouse’s name to the deed after the marriage, your spouse might have a claim on the property.

You purchased the home with your spouse after your marriage

In such a scenario, your spouse will own part of the home or its value after your divorce, unless you work out some other type of agreement. Many people (including custodial parents) who keep the family home work out a “buyout” of the other spouse’s share as part of the divorce process.

For more information about keeping the family home after divorce, contact an experienced divorce lawyer in Miami, FL at the Law Offices of Granoff & Kessler.

Categorized in: Divorce