Connecticut’s family courts determine who gets the house in a divorce with children by accounting for each partner’s financial standing and ability to meet the needs of those children. Usually, Connecticut’s courts strive to keep children in a family home and prevent considerable disruption.
Of course, the unique factors involved in your divorce may impact who gets the house. If neither you nor your ex-partner wants the house, you may have the right to sell it and share the economic value between the two of you.
However, you may only have the right to do so if you can prove that you have a safe and secure place for your children to grow up. You can discuss the logistics of dividing property while accounting for your children’s needs with our divorce lawyers in New Haven.
Understanding Equitable Distribution in Connecticut
New Haven family lawyers recognize Connecticut’s law of equitable distribution as one that ensures property, including a couple’s house, remains equally divided between a divorcing couple. However, this law does not state that the parties involved in a divorce will receive a 50/50 share of the house.
Instead, Connecticut’s family laws state that each couple will receive property and assets of equal value. Connecticut’s courts will assess the contributions each spouse made to the marriage, categorizing those contributions as marital assets, and then divide them so that both parties receive an equal share.
Your role in acquiring an asset, maintaining that asset, or appreciating that asset will play a part in determining its value and whether or not you can request it as your marriage dissolves. You can speak with an attorney to conduct an initial assessment of your assets and set aside requests for the property that you’d like to take with you after your divorce concludes.
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Children and Equitable Divorce
Children are not considered assets throughout divorce proceedings. Instead, Connecticut’s family law courts want divorcing parents to establish custody schedules, living arrangements, and decision-making responsibilities that put children’s needs first.
When it comes time to determine who gets the house in a divorce with children, Connecticut’s courts consider which parent has asked for possession of the property and if that request will make it easier for children to remain in the family home. If one spouse wants to live somewhere else, that spouse may be less likely to receive the family home once the divorce concludes.
Of course, this standard is not set in stone. Courts will consider how well each parent can care for their children or meet those children’s financial needs. These factors, along with each parent’s circumstances and history, can impact decisions about custody, visitation, and property designations.
Hostile Divorces and Property Division
Unfortunately, divorcing couples are often going through some of the hardest days of their lives. The emotional difficulties that come with divorces can make conversations about fair divisions of property strenuous or even hostile. If conversations break down and turn into arguments without any chance of resolution, Connecticut’s courts can step in.
The courts may choose a partner to take possession of the family home as divorce proceedings continue. However, Connecticut’s courts only tend to make decisions of this scope in extreme circumstances. If you can’t live with an ex-partner, and they refuse to leave your shared home, you may have to relocate, with a court overseeing where your children go during proceedings.
Fortunately, Connecticut’s family courts tend to look favorably on partners who leave an unsafe home for the safety of their children. Leaving the family home is not the same thing as abandoning your family, especially if you feel like you’re in danger. You can discuss whether or not leaving your family home might suit your needs with our New Haven divorce attorneys.
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How Can You Ensure a Fair Division of Property During Your Divorce?
If you want to fight for the house in a divorce with children in CT, you can do so by keeping track of all of the documents related to your shared assets. This can include three years of federal and state income tax returns, IRS forms, pay stubs from your job, and statements from your bank or financial manager.
You can also collect statements from retirement accounts, life insurance policies, health insurance policies, and other sources of income. Our legal team can even connect you with appraisers so you can have your assets financially appraised on your own terms. Early appraisals can establish your home’s value.
If you and an ex-partner can’t agree on an appraiser, you can independently request an assessment of your home’s value, then compare your findings. The courts will then assess those appraisals, establishing a compromise even if you and your ex-partner can’t. You can then request that the court award you most of your divided assets in the form of that house.
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How to Protect Your Children Throughout Divorce Proceedings
While maintaining the family home can make it more likely for you to remain your children’s primary guardian, it’s not a guarantee of custody or primary decision-making rights. Generally, decisions about custody and visitation stand separately from decisions about divisions of property.
You can discuss how to put forward a request for custody or visitation rights in tandem with a request to maintain your family home when you meet with our divorce attorneys in New Haven. We can clearly explain your options before representing you in conversations with an ex-partner and other legal professionals.
Learn More About Who Gets the House in a Divorce With Children From Happy Even After
There’s no set-in-stone answer to “who gets the house in a divorce with children in Connecticut?” Your and your ex-partner’s divorce attorneys will have to weigh important factors, including your income and ability to care for your children, before determining how to divide your shared property under state law.
You can ask for the family home, but you should be prepared to compromise. Fortunately, most Connecticut courts make an active effort to ensure that families with children have the right to keep those children in the family home where they’ve grown up. If you have concerns about your upcoming divorce proceedings, contact our team at Happy Even After.
We can outline your right to property and ensure that any agreement you reach with an ex-partner protects the needs of your children. We want to create a solution that serves you and your family. Your Peace Is Our Purpose™.
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