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Family home in separation

  • 22-12-2007 3:05pm
    #1
    covirish
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭


    My wife has recently moved out of the house and we starting separation proceedings. The only real contentious issue is the house. I want to buy her out of her half and retain the family home (we are roughly 40/60 time with the kids, and will agree this in the separation agreement). She wants to sell it and we both have to buy new houses. Does anybody know where she stands on this in law? I know the court can fore a sale, but can this be done vene when an offer to buy her out is in place?


Comments

  • #2
    Nevyn
    Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/birth-family-relationships/separation-and-divorce/family_home

    Who has the right to live in the family home and for how long?

    If there are children, the spouse who the children live with will often be given the right to live in the family home until the youngest child reaches 18 or 23. This can provide a sense of continuity for children who are experiencing the separation of their parents.

    The court can make an exclusion order in relation to the spouse who is leaving the family home. An exclusion order reflects the recognition of the court that it is not practical for a separated couple to occupy one house or for the spouse who leaves to retain a key and have free access to the house. It does not imply any unacceptable conduct on the part of the spouse who is excluded from the house.
    Who has ownership rights in the family home and what share does each spouse own?

    A court can order that the house is sold and the proceeds divided equally or in whatever shares it considers just. It can order that the sale be deferred for a specified period of time. It can order the transfer of the house into joint names or into the sole name of one spouse. If the house is held under a tenancy from a local authority, it can order the transfer of the tenancy

    http://www.landregistry.ie/index.asp?locID=50&docID=-1


  • #3
    Gobán Saor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 415 ✭✭Gobán Saor


    The court will only order the house to be sold to provide a spouse with a lump sum (presumably to finance the purchase of a new house.) The court will have in mind a sum that the spouse can expect to realise from the sale. EG house worth 500k, mortgage 100k, a 50/50 split yields 200k per spouse. So if one spouse can come up with 200k (and the other spouse can't or won't or doesn't want to) then that spouse will be allowed buy out the other's interest in the family home. Why not? Exactly the same result from the other spouse's point of view - s/he gets exactly as much as if the house HAD been sold. In practise you could expect to get a small discount on the buyout price as the notional costs of selling (legal/estate agent fees) can be discounted.

    The above is general - you WILL need specific legal advice tailored to your own circumstances.


  • #4
    covirish
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭covirish


    Thanks both for these replies. I think for the sake of peace we will agree to sell the house. Just as one last aside: I have offered to leave the house and for her to move back in (I only stayed becuase the solicitor told me in no circumstances to leave). Does her reluctance to move back in affect my offer to buy her out?


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