Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Re: Is he entitled to half

Generally not, unless you put his name on the deed, because the house would be considered "premarital property," which doesn't get split in a divorce. Premarital property stays with the person who owned it on the day before you get married. He may be entitled to some of it, though, depending on what part of Florida you divorce in.

In some parts of Florida, judges will give him half of the increase in the equity in the house. So, if the house is worth $100k now, and it's worth $150k when you divorce, you'll owe him $25k.

In other parts, particularly Tampa Bay, judges say that he gets half of the increase in the equity in the house. So, bear with me here. Say the house is now worth $100k with a $50 mortgage. So, you now own $50k worth of equity in a house (100 - 50 = 50). When you divorce, let's say the house is worth $110k and you've paid down the mortgage to where you owe $40k. Now you own $70K worth of house. (110 - 30 = 70). Your ownership in the house during the marriage went from $50k to $70k, an increase of $20k. So a judge would say you owe him $10k, or half of the $20k increase in your equity in the house.

But, bottom line, unless you put his name on the deed, his does not get half of your house. If you want to make sure he gets none of your house or even any money at all from it (regardless of all that stuff I explained above), you should consider a prenuptial agreement. That way, you can say that the house is your in a divorce even if it's value or equity or mortgage payoff changes. You can say it's all yours no matter what.