My Name is On The House Can I Change The Locks? (DIVORCE)

Matthew Brickman:

Hi, I’m Matthew Brickman, Florida Supreme court mediator. Welcome to the Mediate This! Podcast where we discuss everything mediation and conflict resolution.

(00:17):
I recently had somebody write in and ask a question. They said, um, let’s see, my name is on the house. Can I change the locks? So the short answer is, I don’t know. You do need to know the laws of your state. You may need to consult, uh, an attorney. What I can tell you is what I have experienced as a mediator. So this is not by any means legal advice, but this is what I have experienced as a mediator. So regardless if the house is premarital, non, non-marital or marital, if this is the house that both the husband and the wife has have resided in, then generally locks cannot be changed until one of the parties is granted, uh, either temporary exclusive use and possession of the property, or they are granted permanent use and possession of the property. Um, so let’s talk about, uh, I threw three terms at you, non-marital, premarital, and marital.

(01:35):
So marital is pretty simple. If the house was purchased after the date that the two parties signed their marriage certificate and before somebody filed for divorce, well then it is a marital piece of property and generally no locks cannot be changed, um, unless somebody has been granted exclusive use and possession, whether that’s temporary or permanent, if the house is non-marital. So, um, possibly it was a pre-purchase purchase, premarital purchase. So somebody purchased the home. Let’s just say hypothetically the husband purchased the home January one and the parties got married on February one. It is non-marital, um, but it might have a non-marital monetary component to it. So being that it’s non-marital, it’s the husband’s pre-marital home. He purchased it prior to marriage. So can the wife take the home generally? No. But is the wife entitled to equity out of the home? Probably. Is it equal?

(02:54):
Probably not. So, um, what, uh, what portion she’s entitled to, we have in Florida a calculation to find out what portion that is. Um, it’s not 50%. It is, um, we take the value that the home was on the date of acquisition or date of marriage, whichever is later. We take the current value, the current debt owed, then we need to find out the principal pay down, not the principal taxes and interest in HOA and all that stuff. Just the principal pay down of marital funds because once you get married, it’s not your money or my money, it’s our money. So what was the principle? Pay down. We pop that into a formula. It does a coture fraction and it then says, okay, this is the husband’s non-marital portion, and then this is the marital portion that gets divided by two. Um, and so even in that case, even if it might be the husband’s premarital or non-marital asset, if both the parties have lived there, generally somebody has to be granted exclusive use possession before locks can be changed.

(04:04):
Um, and so what happens if the locks are changed? Well, if the locks are changed and you no longer have access to your residence where all of your belongings are, usually that’s when attorneys are involved. Or sometimes unfortunately the police are involved, attorneys are better used for that than the police. Um, but that’s generally how that works is, um, if it is, um, non-marital like that. Now let’s say for example it’s a premarital asset. Let’s go back to our example. Let’s say that the husband purchased the home on January 1st and then they got married on February 1st. And let’s say that he had an inheritance or he had a retirement account and so he paid for the home, um, in full, let’s just use the example. He paid for it in full. Um, so there were no marital monies that were used to pay for the home and now they’re filing for divorce.

(05:06):
He wants the wife to leave. Can he change the locks? Because this is not there, there, there’s no marital monies that were spent on the home. It was all his premarital and no marital monies have been spent. Can he just simply change the locks? Still? The answer is most likely no. Not until he has then awarded the home as his sole possession and the disillusion action and granted exclusive use and possession. Um, let’s say for example that, um, he actually had an inheritance. He didn’t pay it all off in full, but he put a down payment on it and then the inheritance money went into a separate account, never got co-mingled into any other account. It was just a separate account that just paid the mortgage, um, and whatnot out of that account, then okay, fine, they’re getting divorced and can he change the locks under the same scenario still until he’s granted his non-marital home, premarital home, his exclusive use and possession and his sole property. If both the parties live there, most likely nobody can change the locks. So to find out for sure in your jurisdiction with the current laws that are in place when you’re asking the question, it is advisable to reach out to counsel to get an answer in your particular case.

Matthew Brickman:
Occasionally Sydney and I will be releasing Q&A bonus episodes where we’ll answer your questions and give you a personal shoutout.

Sydney Mitchell:
If you have a comment or question regarding anything that we discuss, email us at info@ichatmediation.com that’s info@ichatmediation.com and stay tuned to hear your shout out and have your question answered here on the show.

Matthew Brickman:

For more information about my services or to schedule your mediation with me, either in person or using my iChatMediation Virtual Platform built by Cisco Communications. Visit me online at www.iMediateInc.com. Call me at 561-262-9121, Toll-Free at 877-822-1479 or email me at MBrickman@iChatMediation.com.