Selling, Keeping, or Splitting: Managing the Family Home During Divorce
The family home is one of the most debated issues during divorce proceedings. No-fault divorce laws altered the divorce process in England and Wales in April 2022 when they were introduced. However, if you are divorcing and have a family home, you will still need to make decisions on how you will deal with dividing or sharing it. If you are wondering what your options are, this brief guide will fill you in on the basic choices available.
Selling
One of the most common avenues following a divorce, is for both parties to sell the family home. This means that both spouses can go their separate ways and have a clean start with a new place to live using any equity they receive to put a deposit down on a new home or begin renting. If you can agree beforehand on how you will divide the home, it will mean the process is likely to be quicker and simpler.
If you cannot agree, then you have the option to attend mediation, or your case may go to court. In some cases, the courts can defer the sale of your home via a Mesher order (deferred sale) – a court order which allows the sale of the home to go through only when a child reaches a certain age or milestone, for example, when they leave home or start college or university.
Keeping
Keeping the home is another option and can be in everyone’s best interests. For example, one spouse may continue to live in the home with the children and when they reach 18, it could be sold with both parties receiving a share of any equity. This means that even if one of you moves out, the house will remain both names. This route can be helpful if you want to keep things consistent for children or other family members. The house market may be another reason to keep the home, for instance, if house prices are not favourable. You may decide to rent out the property until the market is more buoyant, however, it’s important to note that this option will leave you financially associated with your former partner.
Splitting
While selling is one way of splitting the family home, another direction is for one of the divorcing parties to buy the other out. This can be done via a Transfer of Equity with your existing mortgage lenders. If you are the one buying out, you will then take on the responsibility of paying the mortgage, as well as buying out your ex’s share of the value of the property. The other person’s name will be removed from the deeds and the mortgage and when completed, you will own the home in your own sole name. Ahead of the process, you will need to get a valuation for the home, calculate what the equity is and agree how the equity should be split.
Conclusion
Remember that no two divorces are the same; what suits and benefits some former couples, may not be right for you. While it is important to consider all options available, make sure you are coming to decisions based on what is best for your children, if you have any, and your desires and ambitions for the future.
It’s also worthwhile remembering that until there has been an agreement reached and finalised, when both names are on the mortgage, both parties are responsible for the mortgage repayments, even if one of the spouses has left and no longer lives in the property.
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