Hartnell Chanot: Divorce/Family Law Solicitors Exeter, Devon

Your Home

The Court’s primary concern is that children
are provided
with suitable accommodation.

The family home is often the most substantial asset that you have, and it is therefore usually the main focus of ancillary relief disputes.

Deciding how two households are going to be financed from a source of income usually utilized for one home causes stress and anxiety. Unless you have sufficient financial resources to allow one of you to remain in the family home (a popular option when there are children involved) it is likely that you will have to sell the property in order to release enough capital to enable both of you to purchase homes separately.

However, sale is not the only option.

The Court’s first concern is that your children are provided with ‘suitable accommodation’ for themselves and the resident parent. There are a number of options that the Court has:

1. A order for sale of the home and division of the proceeds of sale
2. A transfer of house into the sole name of one person with a lump sum being paid to the other person
3. Sale of house but with the sale being postponed until a certain time or event occurs.

Suitable accommodation does not have to mean the family home, if this exceeds the needs of the resident parent and children. In this situation the Court can order the property to be sold and the proceeds of sale to be distributed allowing each party to purchase a smaller property that will meet their needs more appropriately.