What happens to the family home when I get divorced?

If there aren’t any children, the marriage has been short and both parties can support themselves having equally invested in the property, the home would probably be sold and assets divided equally.

The only exception to the above is for marriage later in life where one spouse may lose a home after giving up all rights from a previous divorce settlement.

The court would consider the above deciding factors when splitting property in a divorce.

This, of course, would be ideal. The primary concern of the court would be to provide a suitable home for the parent with the main care of any children, while also providing a home where they could visit the other parent.

The court could consider selling the property and dividing the proceeds according to the needs of each spouse so that two smaller properties could be bought.

If this is not financially feasible, then the first consideration of the court would be any dependent children. A home must be provided for the children irrespective of the other parent’s plans and aspirations.

The court has wide powers in apportioning assets. It could rule that one parent maintains a financial interest in the property, say until the children become independent. When the house is sold, the proceeds – after paying off any mortgage – could be divided as previously ruled by the court. This is known as a Mesher order. It could also arrange for a lump sum to be made to one party in lieu of interest in the property.

If the property is in your ex-partner’s name, or you are renting the property , steps may be taken to protect your interest when splitting property in a divorce by registering this with the Land Registry. This could ensure that the property cannot be sold, or further charges be placed on the property without your knowledge, pending negotiations or legal proceedings.

In England and Wales, a Home Rights Notice is a protective measure for individuals who don’t own a property but have rights to live in it. They are usually used when people continue to live in their partner’s property during divorce or civil partnership dissolution.

By submitting a Home Rights Notice to the Land Registry, the non-owning partner can protect their right to live in the matrimonial or civil partnership home and prevent the sale of the property until matters are resolved and the notice is lifted.

A Home Rights Notice is a safeguard measure to ensure that the interests of non-owning partners are acknowledged and respected during any potential sale of the property. It doesn’t change the legal ownership of the property. Instead, it provides the non-owner with two vital elements of protection:

• The right to occupy the house; and
• Protection from the owner-spouse selling or transferring the house or raising a new mortgage against the home.

When submitting the details of your finances, this should also be declared. A new partner’s property cannot be placed in the pot but a court could consider that there would, therefore, be more money available to provide for the other spouse’s accommodation, particularly when children are concerned.

Likewise, if a new partner has moved into the ex-matrimonial home, then the court would assume that the new partner is contributing to the running expenses of the household. If either of you has plans to remarry, this should also be declared.

Sometimes staying in the family home can be rather burdensome and expensive. It may be an ongoing financial struggle to keep up with payments – mortgage, insurance, council tax and utilities. If you have children, maintaining the family home could result in less money to go around for them and, as we all know, children’s costs increase, not decrease, as they grow older.