Who gets the apartment / house after a divorce

In the event that you already have a final and effective divorce decree, it is possible to address the settlement of the BSM. In principle, there are two options. The first is to reach an agreement with your former husband and settle through a written agreement. All property belonging to the BSM will be included in the agreement, including obligations that arose during the marriage (such as bank loans and the like). Therefore, the agreement specifies, among other things, who gets the real estate—in your case, the apartment.

If an agreement with your former husband is not possible, it is possible to turn to the court with a petition for the settlement of the undivided co-ownership of spouses. During a settlement, one proceeds from Section 150 of the Civil Code, according to which: „…the shares of both spouses are equal. Each spouse is entitled to request reimbursement for what they expended from their own funds on the common property, and is obliged to compensate for what was expended from the common property on their other property. Furthermore, regard is paid primarily to the needs of minor children, to how each spouse cared for the family, and to how they contributed to the acquisition and maintenance of the common things. When determining the degree of contribution, account shall also be taken of the care of children and the management of the common household.“

If no agreement is concluded and no petition for a judicial settlement is filed within 3 years from the dissolution of the BSM, a legal presumption applies. Under this presumption, with regard to movable things, the spouses have settled according to the state in which each of them exclusively uses the things from the undivided co-ownership as an owner for their own needs, the needs of their family, and the household. Regarding other movable things and real estate, it applies that they enter into tenancy in common (podielové spoluvlastníci) and that the shares of both co-owners are equal.

If, for example, you do not conclude an agreement on the settlement of the BSM with your husband, nor do you file a petition for a judicial settlement with the court within 3 years from the dissolution of the BSM (which likely occurred when the divorce decree became final and effective), the apartment would belong by law to each of the former spouses in a $1/2$ share. After these three years, you could also request the land registry (kataster nehnuteľností) to register the ownership right to the apartment for each of you in a $1/2$ share. Thereby, you would transition from undivided co-ownership to a tenancy in common, and it would likewise have to be settled. Once again, there is an option to do so by agreement or through a court.