Community Property Law

• Ohio is a community property state; all property purchased during the course of the marriage is considered to belong jointly to both parties involved in the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the deed or other ownership paperwork. Thus, the court decides who keeps and lives in the house based on what would be fair and equitable rather than on who legally owns the home, and it is possible that a deed-holder will lose his right to the house if the court determines it is more reasonable to give it to the other party.
  
  

Potential Sale

• In some cases, the court may decide it is more equitable to sell the home and divide the proceeds between the divorcing spouses than to give the home to either spouse. The court may do this if owning the home will give one spouse significant tax breaks or tax liability or if a spouse will lose significant equity in the home if the court gives the home to the other spouse. The court may therefore order a sale and direct the division of proceeds.
  
  

Child Custody

• If the parent whose name is not on the deed obtains custody of the children, the court may award him the house. Courts must take the children's best interests into account when making decisions regarding any issue that involves them, including where they are to live. If the children have grown up in the house, or it would cause a financial hardship for the custodial parent to move out with them, the court will probably award the house to the custodial parent.
  
  

Sharing the House

• In some cases, the court may determine that both spouses should have the right to the house at different times or that one spouse has the right to certain parts of the house. For example, if a spouse has a home office in the house, the court may rule that she must be given access to the home office during specific hours so that she can conduct her business.