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If you are staring at a possible divorce in Coconut Creek, the question keeping you up at night might not be who gets the couch, it is whether you can keep your home. You may be picturing your kids changing schools, or wondering if you will be forced to sell in a market that feels uncertain. The house represents years of work, memories, and security, so the idea of losing it can feel overwhelming.
At the same time, you probably sense that this is not just an emotional decision. The home is likely your biggest asset, tied to a mortgage, taxes, and real estate values in Coconut Creek and the rest of Broward County. You might have heard that Florida is an equitable distribution state, but that phrase does not tell you what actually happens when two people are fighting over a single house and only one can stay.
We understand how high the stakes feel because, at The Law Offices of Jonny Kousa, P.L., we regularly help clients in Coconut Creek and across Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties work through exactly this problem. Our family law practice often involves divorces where the home is the most contested asset. In this guide, we will explain how Florida law treats your house, what options you really have, and how we help clients build a strategy to protect their housing stability during and after divorce.
Why The Marital Home Matters So Much In A Coconut Creek Divorce
For many families in Coconut Creek, the house is the single largest piece of the financial puzzle. Years of mortgage payments, down payments, and improvements may have built up equity, and that equity is what both spouses and the court will be looking at during divorce. Decisions about the home can affect your ability to buy or rent elsewhere, your credit, and your long term financial picture.
The home is also where day to day life happens. If you have children in Broward County schools, keeping them in the same neighborhood can feel just as important as what each spouse receives from retirement accounts or savings. We regularly work with parents who want to minimize disruption for their children, and the question of who stays in the Coconut Creek home often drives their decisions about timesharing, school zoning, and commuting.
On the other side, homes come with carrying costs that can be easy to overlook when you are focused on the emotional side of things. Mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and repairs do not pause just because you are going through a divorce. In the cases we handle, one of our first jobs is to help clients look realistically at whether keeping the house is a smart financial move, rather than a reaction to fear, guilt, or a sense of obligation.
How Florida Equitable Distribution Affects Who Keeps The House
Florida follows equitable distribution for dividing property in divorce. That means the court aims for a fair division of marital assets and debts, which is not always a straight 50 or 50 split. The marital home is often a key part of this division, and understanding how it is classified under Florida law is the starting point for any conversation about keeping it.
Property is generally grouped as marital or nonmarital. A house bought during the marriage with marital funds is usually marital property, even if only one spouse’s name appears on the deed or mortgage. A house one spouse owned before the marriage may start as nonmarital. However, if that home was refinanced during the marriage, paid down with marital income, or significantly improved with marital funds, some or all of the increase in value can be treated as marital and considered in the division.
This is where many people are surprised. We often meet spouses who believe that because their name is on the deed, they automatically own the house in a divorce. In reality, Florida courts look at when and how the property was acquired, what funds were used, and what contributions each spouse made. Another common misunderstanding is that equitable distribution means every asset, including the home, is simply split in half. In practice, the court looks at the total marital estate and can offset one asset against another to reach what it views as a fair overall result.
Because we apply these equitable distribution rules regularly in Broward and nearby courts, we know how judges view arguments about whether a home is marital or partially marital. Part of our role is to gather the documentation and legal arguments that show how the house should be classified, so you are not relying on assumptions or informal understandings when such a significant asset is at stake.
Figuring Out What Your Coconut Creek Home Is Really Worth In Divorce
Once you understand whether the home is marital, nonmarital, or a mix, the next question is what it is worth. Courts and negotiators usually look at fair market value, which means the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in the current market. In practice, that often means obtaining an appraisal, using a comparative market analysis from a real estate professional, or agreeing on a value based on recent sales in Coconut Creek and nearby neighborhoods.
Equity is calculated by taking that fair market value and subtracting what you owe on the mortgage and any other liens. For example, if your home appraises at 600,000 dollars and your total mortgage balance is 400,000 dollars, your gross equity is 200,000 dollars. That 200,000 dollars becomes part of the marital estate to be divided, although the exact split and how it is accomplished depends on the full asset and debt picture in your case.
There are also situations where one spouse has made a separate contribution that needs to be considered. For instance, if one spouse used a nonmarital inheritance as a down payment on a marital home, or paid for a major renovation from separate funds, that can be a point of negotiation when dividing equity. In the divorces we handle, we work through these nuances by reviewing closing documents, loan histories, and evidence of improvements, so the value of the house is not just a rough guess but a documented figure that can stand up in settlement discussions or in court.
Getting the valuation right does not guarantee you will keep the house, but it shapes every option. Whether you are considering a sale, a buyout, or another arrangement, you cannot make a sound decision without a realistic picture of value and equity. We help clients assemble and understand this information early in the process, which often leads to more efficient and focused negotiations.
Common Options For The House In A Coconut Creek Divorce
Once you know how your home is classified and what it is worth, you and your spouse will need to decide what to do with it. In our Coconut Creek divorce cases, a few main options appear again and again. Each has its own pros, cons, and legal implications, and courts in Broward and surrounding counties see all of them with some regularity.
One common path is to sell the home and split the net proceeds. The house is listed for sale, the mortgage and closing costs are paid from the sale price, and the remaining equity is divided according to your settlement or court order. This approach can provide both spouses with cash to start fresh, but it can also mean children change schools or neighborhoods. It also requires cooperation on listing, pricing, and accepting offers, which can be challenging in a high conflict divorce.
Another frequent option is for one spouse to keep the house and buy out the other’s share of the equity. Using the earlier example of 200,000 dollars in equity, if the spouses agree on a 50 or 50 division, the spouse staying in the home might need to account for the other’s 100,000 dollar share. Often, this is paired with a refinance so the staying spouse takes out a new mortgage in their sole name, pays off the existing loan, and may use part of the refinance proceeds as the buyout. That keeps the departing spouse off the loan and gives them compensation for their share.
There are also more tailored arrangements that we sometimes negotiate. These might include a deferred sale, where one spouse and the children remain in the house for a set period, such as until a particular school year ends, after which the home is sold and proceeds divided. In some cases, spouses agree to remain co owners for a time, with clear rules about who pays what and when the property will ultimately be sold or refinanced. Courts generally want to see that these arrangements are clear and enforceable, not open ended promises, which is why structuring the terms carefully in a settlement agreement is critical.
Our role in these discussions is to lay out all viable options and then advocate for the one that best protects your long term stability. Sometimes that means pursuing a buyout and refinance that lets you and your children stay in the Coconut Creek home. In other cases, it means helping you recognize that selling and downsizing may be a safer path, even if it is emotionally difficult in the short term.
Can You Afford To Keep The House After Divorce?
Even if the law and your spouse’s position would allow you to keep the house, the question that often decides the issue is affordability. You need to look beyond the current mortgage payment and ask whether you can handle the full cost of ownership on a single income, possibly with child support or alimony either coming in or going out. That includes principal and interest, property taxes, insurance, HOA fees if applicable, and typical maintenance costs.
For example, a 2,600 dollar mortgage payment in Coconut Creek might feel manageable when both spouses are working and sharing other expenses. After divorce, that same payment, plus taxes, insurance, and an HOA fee, can strain a single budget, especially if you are also taking on other marital debts. In our consultations, we often walk clients through a simple monthly budget that includes realistic home costs, so they are not making a decision based only on the desire to stay put.
Affordability also matters because of what lenders will require if you plan to refinance and remove your spouse from the mortgage. Lenders typically look at your income, your other debts, your credit history, and your debt to income ratio. Child support or alimony you receive may help you qualify, while support you pay counts against you. There is no way around these underwriting standards, and a divorce decree does not require a bank to approve a loan that does not fit its guidelines.
Keeping both spouses on the mortgage after divorce, while one stays in the house, can seem like an easy solution, but it carries serious risks. The spouse who moves out still has that debt on their credit report, and late payments or default can damage both parties. Even if your judgment of dissolution says one spouse must pay the mortgage, the lender can still pursue either borrower if payments are missed. For that reason, we often structure settlements with clear deadlines to refinance the house or, if refinance does not occur by a certain date, to list it for sale. This protects both parties from long term exposure they did not agree to.
We frequently help clients coordinate the timing of these steps with their broader settlement. That way, you do not end up with a court order that looks good on paper but proves difficult to carry out once you start dealing with banks and monthly bills.
How Judges In Broward Area Courts Look At The Marital Home
Florida judges do not use a single formula when deciding who, if anyone, gets to keep the marital home. However, in Broward County and nearby courts, we do see some consistent themes. Judges generally want solutions that are realistic on the numbers and enforceable over time. If one spouse asks to keep a Coconut Creek home but cannot show how they will afford the mortgage and other costs, the court may be reluctant to order an arrangement that seems likely to fail.
Child related factors can play a role, particularly in the short term. Judges recognize that keeping children in the same school and neighborhood during a divorce can promote stability. In some cases, that reality supports allowing the primary residential parent to remain in the home for a period of time. However, this does not mean that having majority timesharing automatically guarantees that parent will keep the house permanently, especially if the finances do not support it.
Courts also look at the full picture of marital assets and debts when tying the home into equitable distribution. If one spouse keeps the house and its equity, the other might receive a larger share of retirement accounts, cash, or other property to balance things out. Conversely, if both spouses agree to sell, the court can focus on making sure the sale process and division of proceeds are clear and workable.
Because we regularly appear in these local courts, we understand how judges tend to evaluate proposals about the marital home. That insight helps us present plans that are both tailored to your goals and grounded in what is likely to be accepted. It also helps us advise you when a particular request, such as holding on to a significantly underwater or unaffordable home, is unlikely to be approved and may not be in your best long term interest.
Correcting Common Myths About Keeping Your House In Divorce
Misunderstandings about how homes are handled in divorce can lead people into expensive or unrealistic positions. One frequent myth is that the parent with the majority of timesharing automatically gets the house. While judges do consider children’s stability, they also weigh financial feasibility and overall property division. Many cases still end with a sale or a different arrangement because keeping the home indefinitely simply does not work on the numbers.
Another myth is that if the home is titled in one spouse’s name, that spouse owns it for divorce purposes. As discussed earlier, if the house was purchased during the marriage with marital income, it is usually marital property regardless of whose name is on the deed. Even with a premarital house, years of marital payments and improvements can create a marital interest. Relying on title alone can leave you unprepared for the reality that your spouse may have a claim to part of the equity.
A third common belief is that courts always order the house sold and split everything 50 or 50. In practice, many cases resolve with one spouse keeping the home through a negotiated buyout, or with custom arrangements such as a delayed sale. Even when a judge must decide, the outcome is driven by each case’s specific facts, not a single rule. Recognizing that there is flexibility can open the door to creative solutions that better fit your family’s situation.
We make a point of giving clients clear, realistic information about these issues from the beginning. Correcting myths early helps you focus on strategies that are actually available, rather than fighting for something that cannot be achieved under Florida law or within your financial reality.
Building A Strategy To Protect Your Home In A Coconut Creek Divorce
Deciding what to do with your home is not a single yes or no question, it is a strategy that touches almost every part of your divorce. One productive first step is to gather key documents so you understand your position. These include your current mortgage statements, property tax bills, homeowner’s insurance declarations, HOA statements if applicable, and any recent appraisals or market analyses on your Coconut Creek property.
With that information in hand, we can sit down and walk through different scenarios. For example, we might compare what your budget would look like if you keep the home and refinance, versus if you sell and use your share of the proceeds to buy something smaller or rent for a period. We can also explore how trading interests in the house for other assets, such as retirement accounts, might affect your long term financial security. This kind of modeling often changes how clients think about what they truly want and can afford.
At The Law Offices of Jonny Kousa, P.L., we see ourselves as both advocates and allies. That means we take your goals about the house seriously, and we also help you see the legal and financial angles you might miss in the middle of an emotional process. By bringing together our knowledge of Florida family law, local court practices, and practical housing considerations, we help you craft a plan that is not only legally sound but workable in real life.
If you are facing a divorce in Coconut Creek and your home is a central concern, you do not have to guess your way through these decisions. We invite you to contact our office so we can review your specific facts, answer your questions, and build a strategy focused on protecting your housing stability and your future.
Call (954) 626-8071 to schedule a consultation with The Law Offices of Jonny Kousa, P.L. about your home and your divorce.
