Assignment of the family home

The assignment of the marital home is regulated by Article 337 sexies of the Civil Code in the priority interest of the children, which is why recent case law excludes it in the absence of children.

Assignment of the family home is the measure that the court takes (or the decision that the parties commonly make in the case of assisted negotiation) by which it is determined who, following separation or divorce, will continue to live in the house that once belonged to the family.

This Assignment  is a measure designed to ensure that the weaker members of the family retain the same living environment that characterized the time when the family was still united. It is intended to protect the children and make the dissolution of the bond between the parents less traumatic for them.

This is measure is to be evaluated by the court in the regulation of economic relations between exes.

The circumstance that the main purpose of the assignment of the matrimonial home is to protect the children has posed the problem of understanding whether, in the absence of offspring, it can also be assigned to the non-owner collocating spouse, forcing the owner to find another arrangement.

In any case, the family home is not always assigned to a single spouse. If the same is large and lends itself to being divided and, more importantly, the ex-relationships permit, it is also possible to divide it into two housing units and assign one to each spouse. In this way, the children are also in the best condition to maintain appropriate relationships with both parents.

The order assigning the marital home can be transcribed in the land records of the Land Registry. In this way, the assignee is protected from any claims by the third party to whom the spouse who owns the property has alienated the same or who otherwise has rights to the house.

The marital home assignment order may be revoked by the court if the interest of the children permits.

Revocation occurs first of all when the conditions that justified the assignment cease to exist, so, for example, when the children become of age and economically self-sufficient.

Other assumptions that may legitimize revocation are the assignee’s initiation of a new more uxorio cohabitation or his or her remarriage and the circumstance that he or she ceases to live permanently in the marital home.

Should you need assistance in your separation or divorce please contact info@vgslawyers.com