Who gets the house in a Louisville divorce? This is one of the most common questions asked in the initial conversation with our clients. We understand that your home is a part of many wonderful memories. This is especially true if you have children who have grown up in your home or developed important routines and relationships surrounding school, friends, church and extra-curricular activities.
The first issue associated with who gets the house in a Louisville divorce comes down to the “characterization” of the asset itself. If the home was purchased after the date of the marriage and before the date of separation it will be considered to be a marital asset, subject to an equal division of equity. If the home was owned by one of the spouses prior to the marriage or if the house was inherited the issue becomes legally and financially a bit more complex.
Generally speaking, the question of who gets the house in a Louisville divorce is as much about the division of the equity in the home itself as it is about possession of the house. There are basically three options for managing the family home in a divorce:
- Sell the house, divide the remaining equity/proceeds as part of the property division process within your divorce.
- One of the spouses must buy out the other’s marital interest in the home. Once the valuation of the home’s equity is accomplished a spouse can offer to “buy out” the other’s share of the marital interest in the home in order to keep the house. This may include offsetting equity in the home with other assets such as retirement accounts, investments or savings. NOTE: any order from a Family Court regarding the disposition of an interest in the house has no impact whatsoever on existing mortgages. If your spouse wishes to buy you out you need to make sure they refinance the home to take you off of any mortgage. If not, any missed payments down the road will damage your credit and leave you responsible for resulting collection balances.
- Retain joint ownership of family home. Some co-parents keep the children in the family home and the parents come in and out based upon scheduled visitation. This may also be a solution when one party wishes to keep the home but is not in a position to refinance. The resulting agreement should protect the present valuation of the non-possessing spouse’s marital interest in the home with a lien or mortgage, and provide the incentive of sharing any additional increase in equity which might occur between the time of the divorce and the point in the future when the possessing party is able to complete a refinance of the house.
The question of who gets the house in a Louisville divorce is often quite emotional. The realities of maintaining two separate residences requires additional financial resources. It takes time to work through these issues and find the best solution for your specific needs.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys. We protect our client’s goals and objectives, while providing proven, experienced advice and counsel at each step in the process. What is ultimately in your best long-term interest?
