Although each spouse should walk away with an equal portion of marital assets after a California divorce, neither spouse is “entitled” to the shared home by default. Who gets awarded the marital home after divorce depends on several factors, including:
The name on the title
The person responsible for the mortgage payments
How other marital assets are being divided
Each spouse’s lifestyle factors
Deciding which spouse will have primary custody of the children
In some cases, one spouse may be awarded the house, while the other receives other marital assets of comparable value. In other cases, neither spouse will get to keep the home. The home may be the only asset of value in a case, making it impossible to split assets without selling the home.