Family & Safety

A court will decide who will keep the family home in a divorce. The court will look at several factors to make its decision, such as:

• Needs of the children,
• Needs of the parent who lives with the children,
• Contribution by either spouse in obtaining, preserving, and increasing the value of the home,
• How other marital property, including other assets and debts, will be divided,
• Length of marriage,
• Each spouse's age,
• Each spouse's financial position, including ability to get and keep a job,
• Balance of hardships between the spouses, and
• Standard of living during the marriage.

Typically, the person who gets the family home is responsible for paying the mortgage on the home. Courts will also usually not allow a spouse to stay in the home without refinancing the remaining debt on the house. The person who gets to stay in the home will be responsible for any fees and costs related to refinancing the mortgage. Depending on how the marriage's assets and debts were divided, the person who gets to stay in the home may need to refinance in order to buy out the other spouse’s share of equity in the house.