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What to Do With the Marital Residence in an Orlando or Lake Mary, Florida Divorce 

You are divorcing in the Orlando or Lake Mary, Florida Area. You have a marital house. It is your largest asset by far in the equitable dissolution pot to be divided. What will you do with that asset? If the property is titled as husband and wife, then it is a tenant in the entirety. That means you both own the house with rights of survivorship. If you divorce, then your ownership will become tenants by common with each owner owning a half interest in the house. There is no right of survivorship at that point. Your half interest would then go to your heirs at law if you were to die. That is why it is best when you divorce to divest yourself from ownership with your spouse. How can you achieve that? 

There are questions you can ask yourself to determine what is the most feasible and lucrative situation in your case: 

• Are you on the mortgage with your spouse? 
• Do you want to sell the house and split the profits with your spouse? 
• What if you have a low three percent interest rate on the mortgage? (Currently, interest rates are close to seven percent on mortgages.) 
• Can one spouse afford to buy the other spouse out of the house and remove them from the mortgage? 

If the other spouse has an attorney, they will demand that you refinance and remove their client from the mortgage. If you do not remove the other spouse from the mortgage on the marital residence, they most likely will not qualify to buy another house. The question becomes what to do regarding the mortgage on the house. You will need to speak to a bank or mortgage company regarding refinancing the house in your name only if you want to buy the other spouse out of the house. If this cannot be accomplished, then you will most likely need to sell the house. To request to sell the house, you must include a partition action in your petition for dissolution of marriage 

If you have children, you can ask to remain in the house until the children turn eighteen years old to keep them in the same safe environment they are accustomed to. These are all issues you need to consider regarding the marital residence if you are divorcing in the Orlando, Florida or Lake Mary, Florida area. 

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney-client privilege.