Who Gets the Beach House in a Divorce? Negotiating Settlements

Before beginning the process of negotiating a divorce settlement, you will need to do some researching and some soul-searching. You want to come to the table with a strong position, and you’ll only be able to do that if you have a plan that considers where you are, what you want, and what you need.  Many of my clients in the Bucks County area have significant assets including a vacation home, and need to think through dividing assets.  

Prepare for negotiations

The starting point is to know your end goals. Once the dust settles, where do you want to be financially, physically, and with regard to children and family? What are your non-negotiables and what are you willing to use as leverage? If you want to keep the family vacation home and have primary custody of the children, take a hard look at what you may have to offer in return. 

Knowing your spouse’s wants and needs is also valuable insight, giving you the ability to prepare ahead of time to bargain with what he or she really wants in order to get what you really want. 

To determine how achievable your goals are, you’ll need to have a detailed view of your finances. This includes all income, expenses, and debt; the value of all physical property or assets, including land and buildings, furniture, jewelry, vehicles, etc.; investments such as retirement funds, pensions, stocks, business; and any other items that have any monetary value. You will need to make a budget, clearly listing your sources of income and your expenses, so you know the bottom line. 

Who gets the beach house?

With a clear vision of where you are and a plan of where you want to go, you can now look intelligently at the question about who gets your vacation property. Part of your financial preparation should include a professional appraisal of the current value of the property and a thorough listing of all expenses required for upkeep, including expenses like local taxes. With this clear picture of the specific value of the asset, you have a few options: 

• Sell and divide the proceeds
• Share the property
• Let one spouse have the property

The first option may seem to be the easiest, but it’s not always the best option. If the current value of the property is less than or not significantly more than the purchase price, it may not be worthwhile to sell at this time.

If you and your spouse are on reasonable terms, sharing the property is a viable option, especially if there are children involved who are used to going there. Keeping the property could offer the children a sense of stability during a very unstable time. If you decide to share the property, work with your lawyer to create a document, which you and your ex-spouse sign, that clearly lists when each person may use the property and fairly divides expenses. 

The final alternative is to let one of you keep the property in return for other considerations. This could be a very significant bargaining chip, giving you an opportunity to request certain benefits, whether they be assets, custody arrangements, or additional support. 

In the final analysis, the question of who gets the vacation home is part of the bigger negotiation strategy. My goal as an attorney and mediator is to help you negotiate the best settlement for you and your family. Contact my Doylestown, PA office for a consultation to see how we can help you.