How a house is divided on divorce

There is no magical equation or ‘one size fits all’ formula to separating assets on divorce and dividing up the family home is no different. The family home will be treated as a matrimonial asset regardless of whether it is owned in the sole name or contributed entirely to by one spouse. 

If you can’t agree the division of the house and other matrimonial assets on divorce then it may be necessary to ask the Family Court to make a decision. 

The Family Court will consider all of the circumstances of the case including what other assets of the family there are, including pension assets. Once the assets have been established, the Court’s will look to divide them. 

The Family Court’s first consideration is any young children, their welfare and how their needs will be met. The Family Court is then tasked with ensuring that there is a fair division of the matrimonial assets and to do so they will consider a number of factors. These factors are known as the section 25 factors and can be summarised as:

• the income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources of each party;
• the financial needs, obligations and responsibilities of each party
• the standard of living enjoyed by the family;
• the ages of the parties and the duration of the marriage;
• any physical or mental disability;
• the contributions which each of the parties has made or is likely to in the foreseeable future;
• the conduct of each of the parties if that conduct is such that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard it
• the value, to each of the parties to the marriage, of any benefit (eg a pension) that a party will lose the chance of acquiring

There are a number of different potential outcomes when dividing the house on divorce. It may be that, having considered the above factors, it is appropriate for one of the following: the house to be sold, transferred into the sole name of one party or an order where the house is preserved for the duration of the children’s childhoods and sold when they reach a certain age or on another determining event such as a remarriage (a delayed order for sale). 

It is important at the outset or at any point in the divorce process to consider what you would like to achieve whether that be to retain the family home or ensure an income on retirement and to set appropriate goals. If you require assistance in separating assets or understanding what may or may not be achievable then contact our Family Law team to arrange an initial consultation.