Florida Divorce: Who Gets The House?

Who gets the home in a Florida Divorce? This a common question in most of my clients’ cases. The answer is not that simple. The Court usually begins with the premise that the division of the home should be equal. Understandably, this raises a number of additional questions: How do we divide the house?; Do we sell it?; Who gets to live in the home if we can’t sell it or do not want to sell it?; and What if we can’t afford two separate households?

If there are minor children of the marriage the Court has to take into consideration who the children will be living with. The Court must consider whether it is in the best interests of the minor child for the parent with majority timesharing to remain in the marital home. Generally, absent compelling financial circumstances, the parent with the majority timesharing will retain the use and possession of the marital home until the minor child or children reaches majority or the parent remarries.

When the Court awards exclusive use of the marital home it must identify the duration of this use. When there are no minor children, the Court may require there to be special circumstances to necessitate an award of exclusive use and possession of the marital home.

The issues in divorce cases can be complicated and their outcome may last for a number of years. Contact a Florida Family Law Attorney to see how we can help you.