If Your Ex-Spouse Stays In The Marital Home With The Children, Is It Equitable Distribution, Alimony, Or Child Support?
What happens to the marital home after a couple gets a divorce is a fraught issue in many divorce cases. Some cases include multiple hearings and motions for contempt, not over the issue of who gets to keep the house after the divorce, but even which spouse gets to stay in the marital home while the divorce case is pending, and which party is responsible for which house-related expenses. If the couple has minor children, divorce courts usually decide that the parent who has the greater number of parenting days per year should stay in the marital home with the children, in order to minimize the disruption that the children experience. Acting in the best interest of the couple’s minor children is one of the court’s tasks in a divorce case; another task is dividing the couple’s marital property equitably. A Palm Beach County divorce lawyer can help you persuade the court that you deserve to stay in the marital home and can help you make your possession of the marital home part of an equitable division of marital property.
When the Court Lets You Stay in the Marital Home, Even Though It Legally Belongs to Your Ex-Spouse
Not everyone needs a lawyer to represent them in their divorce, but two of the biggest indicators that you will need a divorce lawyer are that you have minor children and you own a house. There are several ways that the marital home can affect the division of marital property:
- One spouse keeps the marital home, but court awards the other spouse other valuable items of marital property that have a combined value equal to that of the marital home, such as a vacation home, a boat, and paintings.
- The court awards the marital home to one spouse but requires the other to make an equalizing payment to buy out the other spouse’s share of ownership in the house.
- The court awards the marital home to the financially disadvantaged spouse, and because of this, the wealthier spouse must pay a lower amount in alimony or child support than what they would have paid if the court had not awarded the marital home to the financially disadvantaged spouse.
The ownership of Peter and Robin’s marital home played out differently. The court declared that Robin could continue living in the house with the couple’s children until the youngest child reached adulthood. Meanwhile, Peter was responsible for the mortgage payments on the house, as well as alimony and child support. In an appeal, Peter claimed that the financial burden on him was excessive, and the court reduced his alimony and child support obligations to account for the fact that he was also paying the mortgage on the house where Robin and the children were living.
Contact Us Today for a Consultation.
A Boca Raton divorce lawyer can help you find a way to divide your marital property fairly, when your marital home is your most valuable asset. Contact Schwartz | White for help with your case.
Resource:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13865124778538804415&q=divorce+student&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2021
