What happens to a house during a divorce

On Behalf of | Jul 20, 2021 | Divorce

Owning a house in Florida makes things slightly more difficult when going through a divorce. Fortunately, both parties do have some options. Here’s what generally happens to a house during a divorce.

Buying the other owner out

If one of the spouses wants to keep the house and the other one doesn’t, they may have the option to buy out the other party. How this works is that they will have to pay half of what the home is currently valued at. The other spouse may agree to less money if they are able to get an additional asset in the divorce settlement.

Large asset division

For those that have quite a few large assets, the house can get included as part of the asset and property division in Florida. One person will end up getting the house, and the other person may get something that’s equally valuable like a vacation property or even a large boat. Many individuals choose to split the assets rather than selling them as it allows the divorce to get finalized quicker.

Selling it

Many couples do end up just selling the home and splitting the profits. This allows them to both get closure as neither party will no longer get to live in the home that they once shared together. It also may allow both individuals to get a significant amount of cash that they can use to pay for things like the fees associated with the divorce, a down payment on another home or to pay off some of their debts.

If you are going through a divorce and own a home with your spouse, you do have a lot of options. The most important thing is that you talk to your spouse so that you both can determine what you all should do with the house.