Dividing your property will probably be a source of disagreement in your Florida divorce. Unless you and your spouse signed a marital agreement that talks about what will happen to your belongings if you divorce, it can be hard to predict what will happen with your most valuable property.
You might both want to keep the house because of emotional attachment or convenience. What happens in a situation where both spouses would prefer to stay in the marital home in their upcoming Florida divorce?
A judge makes the decisions if you cannot
When spouses cannot reach a mutual agreement about the appropriate way to divide their property, litigated proceedings may be necessary. A Florida judge will apply the equitable distribution statute to your marital debts and assets.
They have to learn about your careers, your separate property and even the unpaid work you did around the home during the marriage. All of those crucial details about your relationship and your individual financial circumstances will influence what a judge decides is fair.
They may decide to have one spouse keep the house. Concerns like keeping the children in the same school district can influence who keeps the house in the divorce. On the other hand, judges do sometimes also order spouses to sell the house that they shared and split the proceeds. The decision is ultimately at the discretion of the judge based on their interpretation of your situation.
How do you secure a particular outcome?
If keeping the house is the only specific term that matters to you, you may desperately want to know the best way to ensure your preferred outcome in your divorce. However, given how much of the property division process occurs at the discretion of a judge, there is no way to guarantee that you keep the house if you go to court to divide your property.
Attending mediation sessions or attempting collaborative negotiations with your spouse could be a better solution than litigating if there are terms on which you will not compromise. If keeping the house is the only thing that really matters to you, you may be able to reach a settlement with your ex that allows you to do just that.
For some people, understanding that they can receive a fair portion of the equity in the house can be enough to let go of the demand to keep the house itself. Others will want to fight all the way to the end to stay in the home that they love. Learning more about the rules that apply to high-asset divorces in Florida can lead you to a strategy that will help you achieve your goals.