I’m asking for some help on this, I have a friend who is going through a divorce. Her ex has been in denial the whole way, he flatly refuses to accept the situation (or change) and has dragged his heels the whole way through the long laborious process.

The Decree Nisi is through and the absolute won’t be too far away, but true to form he’s just not engaging in the process. They live separately in the same house and whilst there’s no nastiness she knows when it gets to a certain point and he knows the end is nigh he’ll be an arse.

Her next step is to put the house on the market, which prompts my question…

Can he prevent the house from being sold??

THere’s no mortgage and she wants her half to find a new place?

I’m in property myself but have no experience of matrimonial, I can just see her getting a buyer and then losing it because he wants to hijack the process, time and time again…..

Anyone have any experience of this matter?

Surely division of the property (with dates by when it’ll happen) forms a part of the divorce settlement?

He either buys her out or the property is sold.

I assume he has to sign something to sell
I assume he can be very very awkward in the process and put many folk off
I assume ultimately a court order can force him to

Can get complex if there are under 18’s in the property, and he looks after them. Then there’s agreeing a valuation, and how the assets are divided up if one bought more into the purchase.

As always, seek legal advice, especially if she thinks he’ll be reluctant.

Good luck with that – first house I bought the divorcing couple took 3 months to accept our offer price

They won’t get a Decree Absolute until the financials are sorted, eg an agreement to sell the house and divide it or agreement one can stay and buys the other one out.

My house was sold after Decree Abolsute and the ex-wife complained bitterly I was dragging my heels but I was just trying to get a decent price. SO yes the husband can drag his heels but ultimately the court can force a sale or put the wife in sole charge of the sale so the husband has no control.

Best of luck to her, its a nightmare 😥

Outdoor informal dining areas help sell houses. Apparently.

He has to agree to the offer, unless the settlement states he signs it across in advance – which as he’s still in, that sounds unlikely.

Amazed at the how many men seem to think they can bluff it out even after a divorce has gone through

Eurgh. Horrible situation that happened to my aunt and uncle. The court agreed to the sale but in the end he ended up in the house on his own deliberately damaging things/doing ludicrous DIY/filling it with rubbish and then when people viewed it he’d act up and make them feel as uncomfortable as possible. Someone took it eventually but it knocked tens of thousands off the price and ensured that their whole family unit disintegrated. It also left him a shell of a man.

edit: I wasn’t party to the legal agreements so can’t comment on that side.

He has to agree to the offer

No he doesn’t, I rejected a number of offers after Decree Absolute before agreeing a sale.

Unfortunately now having a certain amount of expertise in the subject now, your friend needs to ensure that they get a court order enforcing the sale. This can either be a Consent order (i.e. an agreement found through amicable means of a fair division of the assets written up into a legal document by a solicitor) or through mediation / court via a Financial Order. The former is a lot cheaper than the latter!

I sorted it all via a Consent order on and had it stamped by the judge before applying for the decree absolute – once the decree absolute is done there isn’t really an incentive for the other party to get a shift on.

Also make sure your friend is keeping a good record of everything that happens with dates and times – if it goes to court then the judge may have an opinion if one party has deliberately stalled things.

Obviously having someone living in the house who doesn’t want to sell when you’re trying to sell it can be problematic but I don’t see what your friend can do other than get the court order and hope for the best. I guess going through mediation (note this is not trying to save the marriage it’s about splitting the assets fairly) to reach the financial order may help him a) note it’s over b) not be an arse.

Obviously I’m not a lawyer and your friend should go and see one – initial consultants don’t cost that much (I think I paid about 200 quid for a couple of hours – certainly worth it).

The government’s website is actually quite good – https://www.gov.uk/money-property-when-relationship-ends. The forms you have to fill in are borderline incomprehensible at times tho!

90% of the time joint ownership is on a trust to sell which means only mutual consent can stop the sale. So your friend can ultimately force the issue through by court action but it is a right pita .
Been there got the badge and the years of resentment.

No he doesn’t, I rejected a number of offers after Decree Absolute before agreeing a sale.

That was my point, it could not be done in spite of him. He has to agree to the sale unless there is a court order in place. In your case you had to agree to the sale before it could proceed, so he will too

If he wants to stay living in the house, he can, if he buys her out? (question mark added because I’m not entirely sure!)

She needs also to remind him that any messing around can ultimately cost him money – both in legal fees and thru the property selling for less.

In my third year at Uni I shared a house with two divorcee’s. One lived on the ground floor out back and other top-front. Me and best matey rented a room each.

It was a great place- just abit weird as she often had her new fella staying.

TBH I don’t know how ANYONE could do/live like that post-breakup. Talk about masochism.

new bloke, noisy sex, job done

new bloke, noisy sex, job done

Problem is if your trying to keep it all amicable its ny on impossible to provoke someone isn’t it.

Although I volunteer to be the bloke to do this and I’ll chase her round the bedroom like a manical Viking of old 🙂