A Columbus Ohio Divorce Lawyer article about who gets the house in a divorce.

1.  In Ohio,  fault doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t matter if you think it is the other person’s fault that the marriage is ending.  It doesn’t even matter if you convince the Ohio court the divorce is the other person’s fault, the marriage is ending and you did nothing to contribute.  Under the law, that has nothing to do with who gets the house.  

2.  In Ohio, the court’s goal when dividing property in a divorce is to divide things and end things.  The court does not care AT ALL that you were a good spouse.  The court will NOT give one spouse enough support to keep the house and give the other spouse barely enough to afford a studio apartment, EVEN if you have children.

3.  The house usually comes with a mortgage, and always comes with taxes, insurance and maintenance.  In Ohio, if you cannot pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance on the marital residence, then a court is unlikely to award you the marital residence.

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4.  In Ohio, Even if you could pay the mortgage on the house with a reasonable spousal support award, if your spending history while the divorce is pending shows that you are more likely to spend spousal support living your previous life style, and ignoring the mortgage, then you probably STILL will not be awarded the house.

5.  In Ohio, if neither of you can afford the house now that the marriage is ending, then the house should probably be put up for sale.  Generally, the spouse who is least able to afford a similar house after divorce AND is not the person who initiated the end of the marriage is unlikely to be cooperative in selling the house.  For example, they may be inflexible on price, refuse to follow the advice of the realtor regarding decluttering, refuse to cooperate with scheduling showings, fail to maintain the residence properly, etc.

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6.  In Ohio, If one spouse wants to keep the house, and intends to refinance the house into his or her name only, strong consideration should be given to doing the refinance while the divorce is pending.  If they can’t qualify for a loan while the divorce is pending, they will be unlikely to qualify for a loan afterwards either.  In the meantime, you can’t qualify to buy a new house either because your name is still on the old mortgage.  If the refinance can be accomplished later, it can be done now.  Remember the old adage – act in haste, repent at leisure.

7.  In Ohio, just because the house is titled in one parties’ name or the others, only, does not mean that the house is separate property under Ohio law.

8.  In Ohio, Just because one of the parties owned the house prior to marriage, does not mean that the house is STILL separate property.  It may have become “transmuted” into marital property under Ohio law.

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9.  The parties may simply not have enough money to pay the house payment while the divorce case is pending (temporary orders).  An Ohio court may order neither party to pay the house payment while the divorce is pending, if it finds the parties do not have enough money to do so.

10.  Being awarded the house in a divorce is not a victory if you can’t afford it and it will be foreclosed as soon as the divorce is over.

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