Who Gets the House in a Florida Divorce?

The House Is Divided Under Equitable Distribution

Florida Statute §61.075 governs how property is divided in a divorce. The court first separates marital assets (acquired during the marriage) from non-marital assets (owned before the marriage, or received individually by gift or inheritance). Marital assets — including a home bought during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the deed — are then divided starting from the premise that the split should be equal.

A judge can order an unequal distribution, but only based on the statute’s factors: each spouse’s contribution to the marriage (including as homemaker or parent), the length of the marriage, each spouse’s economic circumstances, interruption of careers or education, and whether either spouse intentionally wasted marital assets, among others.

The Three Most Common Outcomes

1. Sell the house and split the proceeds. The most common result when neither spouse can afford the home alone. The mortgage and sale costs are paid off, and the remaining equity is divided per the equitable distribution order.

2. One spouse buys out the other. The spouse keeping the home refinances the mortgage into their own name and pays the other spouse their share of the equity — in cash, or by offsetting other marital assets such as retirement accounts.

3. A parent keeps the home temporarily for the children. Florida law specifically allows a court to award the parent with majority time-sharing “exclusive use and possession” of the marital home while the children are dependent — commonly until the youngest child turns 18 or graduates high school — when it’s equitable, in the child’s best interest, and financially feasible. The house is typically sold and the equity split when that period ends.

What If One Spouse Owned the House Before the Marriage?

A home owned before the marriage starts as non-marital property, and its owner generally keeps it. But it rarely stays 100% separate. If marital funds paid down the mortgage or paid for improvements, the other spouse acquires an interest in that marital portion — including a share of the home’s appreciation during the marriage attributable to those payments. Adding your spouse to the deed can convert the entire home into a marital asset. These “hybrid” homes are one of the most litigated issues in Florida property division, and documentation matters enormously.

Does It Matter Whose Name Is on the Deed or Mortgage?

For classification purposes, no — a house purchased during the marriage is presumed marital even if titled in one spouse’s name only. The mortgage is a separate problem: a divorce decree does not remove either spouse from liability to the lender. If your spouse keeps the house, insist on a refinance deadline in the settlement so your name comes off the loan.

Who Gets the House in a Miami-Dade Divorce?

Miami-Dade divorces are handled by the family division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and the marital home is often the largest asset in the case — South Florida’s home equity gains over the past decade mean six-figure equity splits are routine, and buyouts frequently require careful valuation with a local appraiser. Florida courts require mediation in most family cases before trial, and the house is usually resolved there rather than by a judge. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. has guided Miami families through divorce and property division in English and Spanish for over 35 years, from Brickell to Kendall to Cutler Bay. If you’ve been searching for a divorce attorney near me who understands Miami real estate, we can give you a realistic picture of what would happen to your home.

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