Buyout or Sale? How a Florida Court Read a $140,000 Marital Home Provision
The marital home is often the largest asset couples divide in a Florida divorce. Many settlement agreements give one spouse the option to buy out the other’s share and require the home to be sold if the buyout does not happen. When the plan changes, the wording of the agreement decides who gets what.
A recent Florida appeals court decision shows how much depends on that wording, and why careful drafting during mediation can prevent costly disputes later.
Florida Court Splits Home Sale Proceeds Equally Instead of Awarding $140,000
In Valiente v. Romero, the parties’ marital settlement agreement provided that the husband would keep the marital home and pay the wife her half of the equity, which the parties agreed was $140,000. If the husband did not pay her share within 60 days, the home would be listed for sale and the net proceeds divided equally.
The husband was unable to refinance, and the home was sold for $465,000. The net proceeds were about $186,000. The wife argued she was still entitled to $140,000. The husband argued the agreement called for an equal split. The trial court sided with the wife.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed. The court explained that the agreement set out two separate plans: a $140,000 buyout if the husband refinanced, or an equal division of net proceeds if the home was sold. Requiring a $140,000 payment after a sale would make the equal division language meaningless, and Florida courts avoid reading a contract in a way that renders any part superfluous. The court also pointed out that the provision giving the wife 30 days to move out after receiving $140,000 only made sense in a buyout. The trial court was instructed to divide the net sale proceeds equally.
Why This Matters for Miami Divorcing Couples
A fixed buyout figure and an equal division of sale proceeds can produce very different results, especially when the market price differs from what the parties expected. The couple in this case likely had different assumptions about what would happen if the refinance fell through, and those assumptions led to an appeal.
Agreements involving the marital home should clearly address what happens under each scenario, including deadlines, who pays carrying costs in the meantime, how proceeds are calculated, and when anyone must move out.
How Divorce Mediation Can Help Avoid These Disputes
Divorce mediation gives spouses time to work through what will happen to the home under different outcomes before anything is signed. A mediator with family law experience can help the parties identify gaps, test how each provision would work in practice, and make sure the final agreement reflects what both spouses actually intend.
Speak With a Florida Divorce Mediation Attorney
If you are dividing a marital home or negotiating a settlement agreement, a Florida divorce mediation attorney can help you and your spouse work toward clear terms that hold up over time.
Daniel Umbert of TNL MIAMI is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and experienced family law attorney who helps divorcing spouses resolve property issues and prepare marital settlement agreements. Contact TNL MIAMI to learn more about mediation.
Source:
Valiente v. Romero, No. 4D2025-1919 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
