Many will agree that selling a property after a divorce is one of the most stressful parts of the whole ordeal. One such valuable asset is the marital home. And letting it go is not always a mutual decision. 

What if your spouse refuses to sell the marital home?

Community Property or Equitable Distribution State

Depending on your state, the court will choose to divide your property into one of these two schemes and the results differ: 

1. Community property states will equally split the property between the two parties 50-50. However, if one spouse bought the property before the marriage, this will not be applied and it will be considered as separate property; and 
2. Equitable distribution states will have the split based on certain factors like how much each spouse earns, the earning potentiality of them both, and the value of them staying home and raising the kids. 

It's important to note that these laws are relatively similar and serve the same function more or less.

Try to Buy out your spouse's share of the home

This option will make sense for a few logical reasons when examining divorce in real estate. These reasons include:

• if there are children and you want to maintain stability
• if the house is in an advantageous position to visit friends and relatives, or
• when the market conditions aren't very good for selling. 

In some sensitive cases, no price can be put on an emotional situation and a spouse might refuse any offer.

If an ex-spouse refuses to sell the house, then there are options available to motivate or even force them to. Some situations are easier than others, but dealing with divorce is never an easy task.

Splitting the assets can be a tricky thing and it's usually the case where one or both spouses want to keep the house.

The real question is - can they afford to keep it in the first place after the split? Spouses usually have qualified for their mortgage amount together and sometimes neither one of them can afford to take over it completely.

Settling or going to trial 

An interesting statistic is that around 90 percent of divorce cases will settle before going to trial. 

This is because the court can often be an added stress factor and many people just want the situation to be over with so they can move on.

Agreement on how to divide assets in a mature manner is advantageous in the long run. But sometimes, there are emotional complications and that's understandable.

If you're trying to buy out your spouse and these problems arise, certain measures need to be taken to solve the issue on the court level. 

An uncontested divorce does happen regularly. But the other option requires more finesse and understanding of the law to work things out adequately.

If your ex-spouse refuses to sell the marital home, it's important to consult with the right professionals to remedy the situation.

Consult with a divorce attorney to force the sale 

The most important thing you can do is hire a trusted divorce attorney to handle the finer details because there's no way you will understand it fully on your own. 

This might be a family lawyer, but it's a different story if the spouse is being difficult.

It would be wise to hire outside counsel to examine the case with a fresh set of eyes. 

They will mitigate the factors and try to work out a deal and fight for you in court to force them to come to an agreement and sell. They have most likely worked in similar situations where the spouse doesn't cooperate and will know the exact course of action necessary to help you out. 

It will take time, money, and effort to devise a plan of action, but divorce proceedings are generally carried out swiftly and with the greatest urgency.

A good attorney will empower you to handle any reluctant behavior on the part of your spouse and they may even settle on an agreement before the trial takes place.

Hire an experienced real estate agent to handle the transaction

Another necessity in this situation is to hire a trusted real estate agent such as Real Estate with Tazz to properly manage this sensitive transaction.

This will give you peace of mind knowing that things were conducted fairly and with equity. 

It's important to avoid hiring someone who is a close friend or even an acquaintance because of the sensitivity of the matter. The spouse might think that they are biased in your favor and become more aggressive and disagreeable. 

Rest assured, there are good options in Boise that will handle your situation as delicately as possible to ensure a fair deal that sits well with both parties.

The agent will provide a successful transition to the sale of the home and handle any pressing logistics. They must serve as a neutral party and this is paramount to the successful sale. The realtor must also keep all sensitive information confidential, but still be aware of what's going on.

Hire a counselor to aid you through tough times

This is perhaps one of the most critical steps you can take during this hard time to ensure that emotions are vented and addressed correctly.

A counselor can help you work through the issues of property distribution by encouraging cooperative and mature behavior. 

There are specific options regarding a marriage counselor or life coach to handle these endeavors and help facilitate a smoother transition overall. 

• A good marriage counselor can help the couple reach an agreement and save in overall costs. 
• In many cases, they can be the mediator to prevent having to go to court in the first place which is a great financial burden that is lifted. 
• They help couples to find common ground in an unfavorable situation and are seen as a beneficial resource for support in property distribution, retirement, taxes, childcare, and other topics as well. 

These counselors are an essential part of the divorce process who operate with great knowledge and empathy, and when your spouse is being disagreeable based on the emotions of the situation, they are a great asset in turning things around.