Selling your house during a Florida divorce with one clear number to divide.
HBS buys houses directly for cash and as is. When both spouses want out of the house, a direct cash sale turns it into one number to divide. Florida law shapes who signs, how equity is split, and what a court may order, so your attorneys stay in charge of those decisions.
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We buy houses across Florida, from our home base in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco & Hernando counties. Every purchase depends on property fit, a signed agreement, and title.
What house do you want to sell?
Start with the property address. You do not need photos, repair estimates, or paperwork.
How Florida divorce law affects selling the house.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your family law attorney and the court decide how your home is handled.
Division starts at equal
Florida courts begin with the premise that marital assets and debts are divided equally unless there is a reason for an unequal split. A home bought during the marriage is generally marital; a home owned before the marriage or inherited can be nonmarital, though paying down its mortgage with marital money can create a marital share.
The marital home
Courts may weigh keeping the home as a residence for a dependent child or a spouse, and a spouse can ask for temporary exclusive use and possession of the home while the case is pending.
Who must sign
Florida's constitution requires a married owner's spouse to join in selling or mortgaging a homestead, even when only one spouse is on the deed. In a buyout, a deed from one spouse to the other conveys title without the receiving spouse signing it.
When spouses disagree
Property held as tenants by the entireties becomes a tenancy in common when the marriage is dissolved. Any co-owner can then ask a court to partition it, and if it cannot be divided fairly, the court may order it sold at public auction.
Orders while the case is open
Hillsborough's standing temporary order in family cases tells both parties not to conceal, damage, or dispose of marital assets, and a court can enter an injunction against disposing of marital assets. Check with your attorney before listing the house or signing a contract.
Taxes and transfer costs
The IRS home-sale exclusion is up to $250,000, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and a spouse's or ex-spouse's use of the home under a divorce or separation instrument can count toward the other owner's use test. Transfers between spouses because of a divorce generally have no recognized gain or loss, and Florida exempts marital-home deeds between spouses in a divorce from documentary stamp tax.
What can affect your as-is cash offer.
| Input | How it affects the offerPlain English |
|---|---|
| Equity and payoff | We compare the as-is value with the mortgage payoff so both spouses see the same number to divide. |
| Signatures and orders | Both spouses, and any court order in the case, must allow the sale before closing. |
| Occupancy and condition | Who lives in the house, belongings, and repairs affect the offer and the move-out plan. |
| Timing | Court dates, standing orders, and your settlement terms decide when a closing can happen. |
How the property and local records can change the sale.
Pinellas County
Pinellas divorce cases are heard in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which posts self-help resources for people representing themselves. Your attorney can confirm whether any order in your case limits a sale.
Hillsborough County
In Hillsborough, the clerk gives the petitioner the Thirteenth Circuit's Standing Temporary Order, served with the petition, which tells both parties not to conceal, damage, or dispose of marital assets.
Pasco County
Pasco is also in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Confirm with your attorney whether any order in your case restricts selling or mortgaging the home.
Hernando County
In Hernando, the Fifth Judicial Circuit applies a standing domestic relations order to all domestic relations cases in the county, so read it before listing or signing a contract.
What to gather before selling during a divorce.
Share what you can. Your attorneys handle the legal decisions; these details help us make a clear offer.
Deed and mortgage
Who is on the deed, the lender, and a recent statement or payoff estimate.
Case status
Whether a case is filed, the county, and any orders or settlement terms about the house.
Contacts for both sides
How to reach both spouses or their attorneys so everyone gets the same information.
Condition and move-out
Who lives there, belongings to remove, and repairs you already know about.
How the cash sale moves from first call to closing.
Share the address and who is on title
Tell us who owns the house, whether a case is pending, and how to reach both spouses or their attorneys.
Get one as-is cash offer
Both spouses see the same offer and estimated payoff, which makes the split easier to work out.
Close with both signatures
The title company collects the required signatures and any court order, pays off the mortgage, and disburses the proceeds as your agreement or the court directs.
More help for this Florida home sale.
Check the rules behind this page.
These primary sources explain the rules summarized above. They are not legal, tax, or insurance advice; an attorney, CPA, insurance professional, or building official should confirm how they apply to your property.
Florida Statutes, s. 61.075 (equitable distribution)
The equal starting point, marital and nonmarital assets, and the marital home factor.
Open official sourceFlorida Constitution, Article X, Section 4 (homestead)
The spouse's joinder to sell or mortgage a homestead.
Open official sourceFlorida Statutes, s. 64.071 (partition sales)
When a court may order jointly owned land sold.
Open official sourceThirteenth Circuit Standing Temporary Order
Hillsborough's order on preserving marital assets during a case.
Open official sourceFlorida Statutes, s. 201.02 (documentary stamp tax)
The exemption for marital-home deeds between spouses in a divorce.
Open official sourceIRS Publication 523 (Selling Your Home)
The home-sale exclusion and rules for separated or divorced owners.
Open official sourceIRS Publication 504 (Divorced or Separated Individuals)
Tax treatment of property transfers between spouses in a divorce.
Open official sourceDivorce cash-sale questions.
Yes, if both spouses agree or a court allows it and nothing in your case prohibits it. Both spouses must sign to sell a homestead, and any court orders in your case still apply.
There is no automatic rule. Courts start from an equal division of marital assets and may consider keeping the home for a dependent child, award it to one spouse with a payment to the other, or the spouses can agree to sell.
No. Spouses can agree that one keeps the home and buys out the other, keep it jointly for a time, or sell. If they cannot agree, the court divides the marital assets, and a co-owner of property held jointly after the divorce can ask a court to partition it, which can end in a court-ordered sale.
It depends on taxes, your settlement, and court orders. A married couple filing jointly may exclude up to $500,000 of gain if they qualify, and an ex-spouse's use under a divorce instrument can count toward the use test. Ask your attorney and tax adviser.
If the house is your homestead, Florida's constitution requires your spouse to join in a sale or mortgage, even if only you are on the deed.
Transfers between spouses because of a divorce generally have no recognized gain or loss for federal tax purposes, and Florida exempts marital-home deeds between spouses in a divorce from documentary stamp tax.
Get a cash offer for your house as is.
727-497-7766Start with the address and what is going on. There is no obligation to accept the offer.
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