Can a Divorce Court Order You To Sell Your Home?

 Posted on June 14, 2019 in Division of Assets

Deciding what to do with your marital home is one of the most important decisions you will make during your divorce. Will one of you keep the home or will you sell it and divide the proceeds? What is your home’s value? What properties will the other spouse receive if one of you keeps the home? Your divorce negotiations may stall if you cannot come to an agreement on answering these questions, forcing you to take the matter to trial. Among its options, the court can order you to sell your marital home if it decides that a sale is the only way to equitably divide the property.

Recent Case

In the Illinois case of In re Marriage of Hamilton, the wife in a divorce appealed a lower court decision that forced her to sell her marital home and rental home. The lower court ordered the sale of the homes because neither party presented their actual value. Without that information, selling the homes was the only way for the court to ensure that their value was divided equitably. The former wife cited four reasons why she believed the court erred in this decision:

• Her former husband had testified to the estimated value of the homes;
• She had presented tax assessment notices for the properties;
• The marital home had sentimental value because it had belonged to her family for 90 years; and
• Remaining in the marital home would have been in the best interest of their daughter.

The appellate court rejected these arguments and upheld the sale. Property valuations need to be current and based on proven facts. The husband did not cite how he reached the estimated values of the homes. The tax assessments were three years old and likely did not include inspections of the homes’ conditions. The sentimental value of the home can be part of a court’s decision but does not prevent it from ordering a sale if that is believed to be the best solution.

Contact a DuPage County Divorce Attorney

From this recent case, you can learn that:

• Allowing the court to decide the fate of your marital home is risky; and
• It is vital to be able to prove the current value of your home.

In most situations, the court will not sell your marital home against your wishes as long as you are willing to offer other marital properties in exchange for it. A DuPage County divorce attorney at Calabrese Associates, P.C., can protect your interest in your marital home. Schedule a consultation by calling 630-393-3111.

Source:

http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2019/5thDistrict/5170295.pdf