When dealing with the financial aspect of a divorce and unless the parties have reached agreement about the family home, the Court will decide whether it is appropriate to retain the property so that it will continue to provide a home or whether to it should be sold so that the parties to the divorce can realise the capital.
Selling the home
The Court has the power to order an immediate sale of the family home.
The Court must give first consideration to the welfare of any minor children and the Court will want to be satisfied that children of the marriage will be suitably accommodated and that there is as little disruption to the children as possible.
The difficulty with immediate sale is that often there will not be enough equity in the family home to allow both parties to purchase a new home. In these cases, if both parties are working then they may be able to purchase alternative properties with the aid of a mortgage.
In some cases an immediate sale will be ordered out of necessity because there are insufficient resources to retain and maintain the family home. In these cases looking at rented accommodation may be the only viable option for the parties.
If one party wants to sell immediately but the other wants to remain at the property then there is always the option of one party transferring his or her interest in the home to the spouse in return for a lump sum. Whether this is possible depends on whether the spouse who wants to remain at the property has the financial means to ‘buy out’ their spouse.
The Court has a wide discretion when deciding what orders should be made and what size each party’s respective share should be. The Court will take into account a number of factors such as each party’s financial and non-financial contributions as well as the parties housing needs and the housing needs of any children of the family. Sale of the family home can be avoided in some cases and deferred in others.
If you have any questions about the family home on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership or any area of family law then you should contact our friendly and experienced family team on 02920 470909.