Most divorcing couples start to disagree when they need to decide asset and property division. It is not unusual for someone to want to do everything they can to hold onto a piece of property that they cherish, especially when it means that someone they no longer cherish stands to get ahold of it instead. Out of all the property that can cause a divorce to run into conflict, the family home is probably the biggest and the most common.
DIVIDING A HOUSE IN CALIFORNIA
If you shared a baseball card collection with your spouse, you can each get half of the cards. If you have pooled your incomes into one account, you may even split those finances evenly and call it a day. But what are you supposed to do with something as massive – physically and financially – and as crucial as a home?
If your marital home was actually just your property and yours alone, it is probably considered separate property still. This means that your spouse will have no say to it in the divorce. A home can be separate property if you owned it before your marriage, if you inherited it at any time without your spouse’s name also on the deed or title, or you alone contributed to house payments during your marriage.
On the other hand, a home that is marital property can only go to one or the other spouse, seeing as it cannot be cut in half and it is impractical to turn it into a two-person “time share”. A California family law court deciding who keeps the home will usually consider what other assets have been rewarded to each spouse. If one spouse has been given the family car and control of the family business through equitable distribution, for example, the other might be more likely to get the home due to that offset. It is worth noting that a parent rewarded with primary or sole child custody is far more likely to get to stay in the family home just for the sake of convenience for the children.
If a home is not separate property and an agreement cannot be reached as to who gets to stay in it, there is one more option the court might recommend or mandate: selling it. By selling the family home, the question of who gets to stay in it is completely removed from the discussion. Instead, it becomes the easier question of how much of the profits goes to each spouse.
YOUR HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS
Giving up on your family home can be understandably devastating. Many divorcés have a hard time imagining getting rid of something so important but don’t know where to start if they want to try to fight to keep it. This is where Stolar Law Group can step in and take over. Retain the services of our Beverly Hills divorce attorney and put 30+ years of total legal experience on your side and a Board Certified Family Law Specialist in the courtroom on your behalf.
Call 424-421-0009 or contact us online to start your case with ease.
