Who Gets The House In a Divorce?

The largest asset in most marriages is the family home, but who gets the house in a divorce?

Understandably when it comes to getting divorced, it’s perhaps no wonder that deciding how to divide up the equity in a shared property is often the biggest point of contention.

This will sometimes be a case of who gets to remain living in the former matrimonial home and who needs to move out, so emotions can run high.

This article helps explain who gets the house in a divorce. 

What happens to the house in a divorce?

When it comes to divorce and property, separating couples will often put a lot of effort into deciding what happens to property if you divorce, and this may involve mediation.

There are several different options used for determining what happens to the house in a divorce, but the most common solutions are:

• Selling up – The divorcing couple can put the house on the market and divide up the proceeds. Often the most straightforward option and which can provide for a financial clean break. Money from the sale can be used for deposits on new properties by both parties.
• Buying out – Another common method of dealing with a shared property is for one spouse to purchase the remaining equity from their former partner. This also provides a clean break but it is only possible where one party has sufficient financial resources – either to buy the equity themselves or to increase their mortgage.
• Maintenance – If there are young children from the marriage, the mother will sometimes remain in the property, and the father will move out and carry on contributing to the mortgage repayments as part of a maintenance agreement.
• Settlement – When there is no mortgage on the property, one spouse could leave the house to their former partner in a transfer of equity as part of a financial settlement, possibly as part of pension offsetting.

If the divorcing couple fails to reach a mutual agreement with a consent order, the court may decide on their behalf and impose a financial order on both spouses.

How does the court decide who to give the house to in a divorce?

In property law, as with all matters related to divorce, the circumstances of the marriage and both parties will need to be assessed individually before the court can decide on a divorce house split – including whether one of the former spouses can remain living in the property.

In all cases, there is an overriding principle of fairness, and the initial starting point will be a 50:50 split.

The primary concern of the court will be to protect the welfare of any children under the age of 18. They will then look at other factors set out by section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 – including:

• The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resources which each party has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future
• Financial needs, obligations, and responsibilities which each of the party has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future
• The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage
• The age of each party and the duration of the marriage

The family home should be considered as part of any divorce financial settlement and typically, what happens to the house will determine how other assets are divided, such as any savings or pensions.

Joint Tenancy and Tenants in Common What is the Difference?

When you purchased the property your solicitor should have asked you how you wanted to own the property and explained the difference between Joint Tenancy and Tenants in Common.

Joint Tenancy

Title Deeds pertaining to the property may have both names on the deeds stating that the property is owned jointly, but your Beneficial Interest in the property might be held in equal or unequal shares.

If you hold the property jointly this does not automatically mean that on sale the proceeds will be divided equally. The court may have to consider the Beneficial Interest in the property, and this may be a 60/40 split or a 70/30 split. What happens to joint property in divorce?

Furthermore, if you hold property as joint tenants and your spouse dies their share of the property will automatically pass to you. This will happen even if you’re ex-spouse has left a will expressing a wish for the share to go to someone else.

Tenants in Common

If you do not want your share to go automatically to your spouse then you should consider severing the Joint Tenancy. This is done by serving a written notice on your partner that the Joint Tenancy is severed.

Once the Joint Tenancy is severed both parties will hold the property as “Tenants in Common”, which means It is still in joint shares, or ownership, but if you die your share will go to whomever you want it to pass to and you can make provisions for this in your will.

Do I have a right to stay in my home during divorce proceedings?

While the divorce process is still ongoing, spouses have ‘home rights’ in their shared matrimonial home.

In effect, even if the property is owned by just the husband or wife, their spouse retains a right to live in the property until the divorce, annulment or dissolution has been finalised and a court settlement agreed upon.

However, it is vital that home rights are registered with the Land Registry.

If the divorcing couple are joint legal owners of the property, the situation is more straightforward: both parties have a right of entry and occupation until a relevant consent or financial order has been approved by the court.

There are exceptions to this rule in cases of alleged domestic violence etc.

What happens if the family home is owned by just one spouse?

If your marital home is only in one spouse’s name it’s essential the other spouse registers home rights with the Land Registry.

This means that they register their rights in the property and stop the property from being sold, transferred, or mortgaged without their knowledge.

it’s important to know that this is only a temporary solution until the financial consent order is in place and a permanent solution has been found. It will also be obsolete after the decree absolute has been issued so you must register before your divorce is finalised.

What should I do when selling a house because of a divorce?

One of the first things to do when deciding to sell up as a result of a marriage breakdown is to get the property valued by an estate agent or surveyor. This valuation will be extremely important in terms of the overall financial settlement.

If you have a joint mortgage, inform your mortgage lender about the situation straight away; any failure to meet mortgage payments can damage the credit scores of both parties (eg making new mortgage applications more difficult) and can even lead to the house being repossessed.

Should you sell your house before or after you have filed for divorce?

Whether a divorcing couple decides to sell up before or after divorce will depend to some extent upon their respective financial situations.

If both have their own independent means and savings, there may be less of a rush to sell up – especially if they are happy to carry on living together during divorce proceedings, or if alternative living arrangements can be made.

But if money is tight, it may be helpful to put the marital home on the market at the earliest opportunity.

The overall process of separation can be very expensive and having access to proceeds from a house sale may be critical in terms of both parties being able to meet their financial responsibilities.

On the other hand, if any substantial repairs or alterations are required before the house can be put up for sale, this can lead to disputes as to who is responsible for paying for any work.

In this case, it may be better to first reach a divorce settlement that takes this issue into account.