Family Home and Property

All property owned by either spouse, regardless of whether they contributed to the purchase, has to be taken into consideration in separation/divorce proceedings.

A spouse is prevented by law from selling, mortgaging, leasing or transferring the family home without the consent of the other spouse. This helps to protect the person whose name is not on the Title Deeds. For local authority homes, usually both spouses are on the lease and in the case of a separation/divorce, he/she can apply to be re-housed.

In many circumstances, the right to live in the family home is usually granted to the parent who is given custody of the children.