Who Gets The House In A Florida Divorce?

Whenever a couple owns a home or other property together

, one of the first questions that each party may have is who gets the house in the event of a divorce. The answer to this question will depend upon the situation, but knowing the answer is key to making sure you understand your legal rights.

Asset Division in a Florida Divorce

The single best way to decide who gets the house in a Florida divorce is to decide together with your spouse. Divorces are either litigated or no-contest/no fault divorces in Florida. With a no fault and uncontested divorce, neither spouse is blamed and the two parties decide together who will receive what assets from the marriage. An out-of-court agreement is drafted outlining who gets what and the court makes the agreement legal when dissolving the marriage.

In order for an uncontested divorce to be possible, all issues involved in the divorce will need to be decided. This means that you will need to determine with your spouse who gets the house. You can resolve this in any way you see fit. For example, one of you might get the house and other might receive a larger amount of other marital assets. On the other hand, one of you may get the house and would have to buy out the other spouse either at once or over-time, paying him or her pay back for money that he/she invested in the house.

If you cant work out who gets the house on your own, then the court will do so as part of deciding asset division in a litigated divorce. In the state of Florida, rules called equitable distribution rules are used to assess who should receive what assets and how assets are divided up. This means that courts consider what is fair and just in separating marital assets. Courts, therefore, will try to award the house to the party that it makes the most sense to award it to and that results in the fairest possible result.

When one spouse owned the house prior to the marriage, typically that spouse will be awarded the house by the court. However, under equitable distribution rules, if the other spouse contributed financially or through sweat equity that improved the value of the house, then the spouse who doesnt get the home may need to be compensated. Again, this could result in the court ordering one spouse to buy the other out, or in the court adjusting the division of other marital assets so that the spouse who doesnt get the house gets things that are equivalent in aggregate value.

Finally, in some cases, neither party may end up with the house in a divorce. Instead, the house may need to be sold and the proceeds divided up. This can occur when there are few or no other marital assets and when it would not be fair to let only one spouse have the house. This may also occur in situations where neither spouse can afford to actually keep the house after the Florida divorce.

by: Jeff Miller

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