When a marriage ends, determining who will remain in the home is one of the biggest decisions to be made. During the divorce, it’s important for a stay-at-home parent to remain in the marital home. Favorable outcomes are usually based on what happens in the earliest stages, and hiring a family court lawyer in Commack, NY to get help in keeping the home is an essential step.
Why Staying in the Marital Home Is Important
Remaining in the home has an enormous impact on other parts of the divorce process. If a parent wants to keep custody of children, it’s crucial to stay. Custody is determined by which parent can offer the greatest stability, and it’s easier to keep kids on a routine when they can remain in the home in which they’re accustomed to living. A custody order means that the other parent will pay support, which can be a primary issue if the paying spouse was previously a stay-at-home parent.
A Hypothetical Example
Take this example as a demonstration of the importance of keeping the marital home in a divorce. A client goes through a divorce after being married for a decade and seeks a child support modification. The spouse was a stay-at-home parent while the other parent was the breadwinner. If that person decides they want a divorce, and the other spouse forces them from the home by changing the locks, the departing spouse can be left without a job or a residence.
If the other spouse is awarded the marital home, child custody, and child support, the outcome is drastically different than if the departing spouse had refused to leave the marital home and the children. The spouse would have received primary custody and child support, instead of the reverse occurring.
Conclusion
The example above serves to demonstrate why it is important to keep the marital home in a divorce. If a person believes that their spouse will refuse to leave, to speak to a family court lawyer in Commack, NY right away. Favorable divorce outcomes are much more likely when parents take immediate action to protect their children and their interests, and staying in the home is an important step. However, clients should keep in mind that remaining in the marital home does not mean that they get to keep everything within, and courts look unfavorably on those who remove property before an equitable distribution is made.
