Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

The divorce process is designed by the Michigan Legislature to be a slow and often tedious process.  The delay between filing for divorce and actually getting divorced often leads to many issues regarding how the divorcing spouses will handle expenses during the divorce, what they can do to prepare for post-divorce life and whether they can sell or "move" some of their property.  One issue that comes up quite often is whether the marital home can be listed for sale while the divorce case is proceeding or whether it can only be done after the divorce is finalized.  This blog is written to generally address this issue, if you have concerns regarding divorce, separation or other family law issues, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

Do I Have To Wait To Sell The House Until After The Divorce Is Finalized?

The answer is maybe.  It really depends on whether the other spouse agrees to sell the house.  If both parties agree to sell the home, then there is no reason that you should have to wait until you are actually divorced to put the house on the market.  In a case like that, divorce lawyers in Michigan typically will put together an "Order To Sell The Marital Home" that describes what the parties have agreed to with preparing the home for sale, putting it on the market, who will be the realtor and how will acceptance or denial of purchase offers be handled if there is a disagreement between the spouses and how the proceeds will be divided.  The Order is signed by the judge and the parties then are required to abide by the terms of the Order with regards to the sale and division of the proceeds from the sale.

In most cases, if the other spouse does not want to sell the home until after the divorce, you will probably have to wait to sell it until after the divorce is finalized.  However, If the other spouse does not agree to sell the home, but there is good cause to list the home for sale as soon as possible, and the other spouse has no reasonable grounds for their refusal to sell the home; then you can file a motion and the judge can order the home to be sold immediately.  In that case, the judge may order that the proceeds be held in a trust account or separate account until all of the assets can be divided to ensure an equitable division of all of the marital property.

Divorce is a complicated and emotional area of the law.  If you or your spouse are considering a divorce or separation, you should schedule a consultation to discuss your case with us by calling (248) 608-4123 or clicking on this link.