Who Gets the House in a Florida Divorce?

Three Ways Florida Courts Handle the House

The marital home is usually the largest single asset in a Florida divorce, and the most emotionally charged. Under Florida's equitable distribution framework, there are three standard options:

Option 1: Sell and split. Both spouses stay on the deed until a buyer closes. The mortgage is paid off from the sale proceeds, and the remaining equity is divided — typically 50/50, minus broker commissions (usually 5–6%) and closing costs.

Option 2: One spouse buys out the other. The keeping spouse pays the departing spouse their share of the equity. The departing spouse signs a quitclaim deed transferring title, and the keeping spouse refinances the mortgage into their sole name.

Option 3: Deferred sale with exclusive possession. The court grants one spouse — usually the primary caretaker of minor children — the right to live in the home temporarily. Joint title is maintained (converted from tenants by the entireties to tenants in common), and the house is sold when a triggering event occurs: the youngest child turns 18, the occupying spouse remarries, or a date specified in the settlement agreement.

The Home Buyout Calculation

If one spouse wants to keep the house, the buyout amount is not simply half the Zillow estimate. Florida courts use a net equity formula that accounts for real transaction costs:

Net Equity = Appraised Value − Mortgage Payoff − Hypothetical Selling Costs

The hypothetical selling costs (typically calculated at 6% of the appraised value) are deducted because if the house were sold on the open market, those costs would reduce the proceeds available to split. Omitting them inflates the buyout price.

Here is a worked example:

• Appraised value: $650,000
• Mortgage payoff balance: $280,000
• Hypothetical selling costs (6%): $39,000
• Net equity: $331,000
• Each spouse's share (50/50): $165,500

The buying spouse needs to come up with $165,500 for the departing spouse — usually through a cash-out refinance that rolls the existing mortgage payoff ($280,000) plus the equity payment ($165,500) into a new loan of $445,500.

The Quitclaim Deed Is Not Enough

A quitclaim deed removes the departing spouse from the title. It does not remove them from the mortgage. This is the single most dangerous misunderstanding in a Florida divorce.

The mortgage is a contract between the borrowers and the lender. A divorce decree — even one signed by a judge — cannot override that contract. If the keeping spouse stops making payments, the lender can and will pursue the departing spouse for the full balance, report the delinquency to credit bureaus, and initiate foreclosure.

The only way to fully sever the departing spouse's mortgage liability is a refinance into the keeping spouse's sole name, or a formal mortgage release from the lender (rare).

The Refinancing Trap: The 6/36 Rule

Conventional mortgage underwriters follow a rule that creates a structural conflict with most settlement agreements:

• 6-month receipt history: the keeping spouse must show they have been receiving alimony or child support payments continuously for at least 6 months before that income can count toward loan qualification
• 36-month future duration: those support payments must be scheduled to continue for at least 36 months from the mortgage application date

But most settlement agreements require the refinance to happen within 90 to 180 days of the final judgment — long before the 6-month receipt threshold is met. If the keeping spouse cannot qualify on their income alone, the buyout fails and the house must be sold.

Factor this timeline into your settlement negotiations. Do not agree to a buyout arrangement that depends on qualifying income you cannot yet document.

Exclusive Use and Possession

When the court grants one spouse exclusive use of the home, the settlement agreement must address who pays for:

• Monthly mortgage payments
• Property taxes and homeowners insurance
• HOA fees
• Maintenance and repairs

These carrying costs are not automatically assigned to the occupying spouse. They are negotiated as part of the overall equitable distribution, and the agreement should spell out exactly who is responsible for each line item.

The Save Our Homes Tax Surprise

Transferring homestead property during a Florida divorce can trigger a reassessment by the county property appraiser, stripping the property of its Save Our Homes cap. This cap limits annual assessed-value increases to 3% — without it, the assessed value can jump to current market value, producing a substantial and unexpected property tax increase.

Whether the transfer triggers reassessment depends on the specific circumstances and county. Discuss this with a tax professional before finalizing the settlement.

Premarital Home with Marital Mortgage Payments

If one spouse owned the house before the marriage but marital funds paid down mortgage principal during the marriage, the non-owning spouse has a marital interest in the property under the statutory formula. That interest is calculated using the coverture fraction — a formula that isolates the marital portion of any passive appreciation.

The Florida Divorce Financial Split Guide includes a home buyout calculator and a coverture fraction worksheet so you can run these numbers before sitting down at the negotiating table.

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