Can I force my wife to sell our house?

oneacourt

We are married and jointly own our family home. We have decided to split up, but due to financial difficulties and debt we don't have the money to pay the lawyers and to pay for separate accommodation.

I would like to sell the house, pay the debt and split the capital we unlock, but my wife refuses to sell. Is there a way (without spending money on lawyers) to sell the house even if she refuses?

BitterAndTwisted

No, there isn't. Usually agreements like these are reached when negotiating the divorce settlement. If your wife is adamant that she won't sell perhaps she could be persuaded to get a mortgage on the property by herself and buy you out

ALIBOBSY

Unfortunately I believe unless you can talk her around it is only through legal means that anyone can be forced to sell a property.
From a point of view of avoiding lawyers etc are you both absolutely sure things are over, espcially if you have children? It may be worth investing a bit of time in going to some kind of councilling service such as relate, even if that just solidifys that the relationship is over they may be able to get you both to come to a mutual agreement about how to split the assets/debts/your lives without all the shouting and paying too much to the lawyers.
Could she buy you out?

Good Luck to both of you.
ali x

dancingfairy

In theory I believe you could go for a forced sale but this will be through the courts and cost quite a bit I fear - not to mention the extra stress and hassle. If there are children involved wouldn't a judge weigh up the benefits vs disadvantages of making a mother and children homeless? You'd have to have a fairly convincing case against that I would have thought.
I see 2 options - 1 friendly (or at least civil) communication to sort things in an amicable way or 2 using solicitors/lawyers etc - might be better all round if you can sit down and come to some sort of arrangement.
I don't know how raw things are for her right now but she might need some time to get her head around things depending on the cirumstances?
Best of Luck
df

G_M

Either you do this amicably, without lawyers, and reach an agreemnt.

Or you fail to do so and need to resort to the courts. You could, of course, attempt to represent yourself/yourselves in the courts without lawyer(s), but it's a complex area of law - a minefield.