Who gets the house in a divorce with children?

In any financial proceedings on divorce the interests of any children are the first concern. This can be the deciding factor in some cases when it comes to whether or not the family home is sold, but it all depends on the circumstances. There are no hard and fast rules. Often one spouse will keep the home and the other will get more of the other assets to balance things out.

Can you get divorced and still own a house together?

Yes, and this applies not only to the family home but any other properties you may have. It may be that the main home is kept whilst the children are still young but will be sold later. It can either be kept in joint names or transferred into sole ownership with a payment being made to the transferring spouse at a later date. There are tax and other practical implications here and specialist advice is recommended.

Can you buy a house while getting divorced?

Yes. Ensuring that both you, your ex and any children have somewhere suitable to live is a main priority. Often it will be more appropriate to rent whilst negotiating the overall divorce settlement, but if buying another property in the interim is affordable and won't make it more difficult to achieve a fair split in the longer term then that's fine. It's important to note that any significant expenditure needs to be disclosed during financial negotiations or court proceedings and in most cases the cost of a new home is likely to be at a level that means it should be discussed and agreed before it's done rather than risking it being challenged after.

How to determine equity in a home in a divorce?

The equity in a property is its value less any borrowing charged against it and actual or notional costs of sale. The equity in a family home or other properties is an asset to be taken into account when reaching a divorce settlement. Unless a third party outside the marriage is staking a claim in its value, the legal ownership won't usually matter, nor will who was responsible for paying the mortgage or outgoings. The equity will simply be part of the overall pot to be divided in accordance with the discretionary legal principles that apply.

Family home

What happens to the family home in a divorce will often be a key concern. There are legal, practical, financial and probably also emotional issues to be considered.

When you are considering or starting the process of divorcing, one of the first things you'll need to sort out will be your immediate and longer term living arrangements. You and your partner are both going to need somewhere to live and, if you have children, somewhere they can be comfortable and happy when they're with you.

Although the ability to afford separate homes, either in the short-term or when everything has been finalised, is not generally an issue in the cases we advise on, this doesn't mean that decisions about property and divorce are necessarily any easier. The same questions arise. Should one of you move out and if so how does that affect your legal rights? Does it make any difference whose name the home is in? If you stay in the house together how does that impact on the divorce process itself? Who pays the mortgage and will that be taken into account in the eventual settlement? Will the house have to be sold? Most importantly, how can you minimise the disruption for your children?

There's a difference between a house and a home. If you feel it's about more than simple financial value we'll understand and listen.

Although there's often an emotional angle to decisions about the marital home on separation and divorce these are a few of the legal and financial points to bear in mind.

In most cases children need a home with both parents and the aim must be to disrupt them as little as possible. The division of property, including the family home, and other assets on divorce needs to take this into account
Unless there's third party involvement, generally speaking it doesn't matter long term whose name the property is in. Whether it's eventually sold or kept by one of you it's an asset that will be taken into account
Moving out doesn't affect legal ownership or entitlement to a fair share of the property's value in the divorce settlement. However, you can still get a divorce if you both stay in the family home while it's going through. If this can be managed without it being damaging to you or the children then it might make financial sense
Who paid for the family home originally or for the mortgage will not normally be important.

As with everything, agreeing arrangements rather than fighting over them will keep financial and emotional costs down.

Divorce and the family home FAQs

Who gets the house in a divorce with children?

In any financial proceedings on divorce the interests of any children are the first concern. This can be the deciding factor in some cases when it comes to whether or not the family home is sold, but it all depends on the circumstances. There are no hard and fast rules. Often one spouse will keep the home and the other will get more of the other assets to balance things out.
Can you get divorced and still own a house together?

Yes, and this applies not only to the family home but any other properties you may have. It may be that the main home is kept whilst the children are still young but will be sold later. It can either be kept in joint names or transferred into sole ownership with a payment being made to the transferring spouse at a later date. There are tax and other practical implications here and specialist advice is recommended.
Can you buy a house while getting divorced?

Yes. Ensuring that both you, your ex and any children have somewhere suitable to live is a main priority. Often it will be more appropriate to rent whilst negotiating the overall divorce settlement, but if buying another property in the interim is affordable and won't make it more difficult to achieve a fair split in the longer term then that's fine. It's important to note that any significant expenditure needs to be disclosed during financial negotiations or court proceedings and in most cases the cost of a new home is likely to be at a level that means it should be discussed and agreed before it's done rather than risking it being challenged after.
How to determine equity in a home in a divorce?

The equity in a property is its value less any borrowing charged against it and actual or notional costs of sale. The equity in a family home or other properties is an asset to be taken into account when reaching a divorce settlement. Unless a third party outside the marriage is staking a claim in its value, the legal ownership won't usually matter, nor will who was responsible for paying the mortgage or outgoings. The equity will simply be part of the overall pot to be divided in accordance with the discretionary legal principles that apply.

Family home

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