How can I enforce a court order to sell ex marital home?

[Mrsmaca1]

Can anyone help me....I'm divorced after an obstructive ex made it take ages...the court order says the house needs to be sold ASAP and then I get a share and can move on.....bearing in mind I'm not touching his businesses and other properties in hope of a quick resolution!!....2 years on and he's still being obstructive...not allowing viewings etc....I've been back in touch with a solicitor who quoted me between £10k to £25k to take it back to court to enforce the order!!!...I've already spent £21k up till now on solicitors fees to get to this point and really can't borrow any more....has anyone got an idea what I can do??...can I take it back to court myself??..and how??

Sorry you are in this situation.

You might get better advice if you move this to the divorce/separation thread.

Thanks...I'm new to this...how do I do that??🤔

Ok so you click on the 3 dots at the top of your post (opposite side from
where you user name
is) and select “report post” and then ask Mumsnet HQ to move it for you in the message box that will come up for you.

Thank so much, I've done that 😊

Unfortunately your only recourse if he continues to be obstructive is to take it back to court - and ask a judge to remove your ex from the sale

Can you move back into the marital home?

You would need advice but depending on what the order says it could be contempt of court and that can be quite serious

You don't need a solicitor to go to court, you can represent yourself

this - you need to be there to make this happen. Also, threaten to get obstructive with his businesses. He needs something to lose.

Yes, I’d threaten to go to court to ask that the value of his businesses, pension any other assets be split as part of the financial settlement/financial order.
This might make him see that the house sale might be in his favour.
Are you sure the court will allow you to walk away with only half the house, and not any of the other marital assets?

Op stated it’s as per the court order - so I’m presuming the financial settlement is done.

if so op cannot go back and ask for more or to change it, just that it be enforced

if it’s not yet finalised and sealed op cannot of course reconsider and request additional Items be included ( no guarantee of success of course )

You need to submit a form N208

The problem is, as you will see if you google that form, its essentially a blank sheet where you have to set out the case in legal terms, that's where the solicitor earns their money.

You could ask the clerk of your local county courts advice.

Just thinking, do you know anyone who’s studying law or just graduated or something? While obviously technically not qualified to give legal advice they would have knowledge of the law and be able to help you fill in the form and better represent yourself?

As PP says, it’s worth instructing a solicitor for this - try shopping around as you may get it for less or for a fixed fee. Search ‘Order for sale’ application. You should be able to get at least some of your costs back, if not all, if he forces you to make an application.

good luck x

I was in this position in late 2023.. we split and he was very reluctant to get on with the sale as he was not the one who wanted the split. Best advice I had was NOT to move out of the joint home. It took almost 2 years with him dragging his feet at every stage to get the sale complete. If I had left it would NOT have happened and my solicitor had advised to enforce was crazy money in court so u I knew that was my best option. I think the other pp have also said move back in and arrange the sale from there. Sorry you are in this position as it’s hard to move on

Well clearly there is not a quick resolution so why are you not getting half of everything else? Take him back to court and claim your legal fees from him too, and go after it all

Earlier post should read op can ask for additional settlement IF the financial settlement is not yet sealed. If it is, it’s too late

The cost is not to go back to court, it’s your solicitors fees. Apply to return to court yourself (without a solicitor). If your ex is not complying with the court order already made, it will reflect badly on him. You may not even need to return to court. Getting the letter asking him to return may simply be enough to get things moving with the house sale.

Regarding the PP about the form N208 - one option is to upload the previous documents into Claude and ask it to help with drafting. Claude is better than ChatGPT for these things. You may then pay less for a solicitor to review it, or if you are comfortable submit yourself.

The court staff are not legally qualified to give legal advice, they can only tell you the process

I took my ex back to court for similar. Had to go back 3 times. He kept obstructing the sale of properties. I was awarded the cost of my legal fees back as I shouldn’t have had to kept taking it back to court. I represented myself for the last 2 hearings as wasn’t sure if I would get the money back and I had run out. Was easier than I thought and the judge accepted some things I hadn’t done quite right process wise.

Since its cost you od go for the full lot !he's clearly not going to give you a clean break take him for everything you can or at least threaten it see if he gives in .

Op states she has a court order. If so all she can do now is get it enforced not vary it.

if that’s not the case then perhaps she could try to get more but that could lead to higher costs and even longer durations

I was in almost exactly the same situation. I had a one hour appointment with a solicitor, to take advice on what I should do myself, as I couldn't afford (after an acrimonious divorce that went to Final Hearing) any legal representation.

She told me first to write to exH's solicitor, asking if they were still instructed, and setting out the case. Then giving a deadline, after which I would take the matter to court (it had been over two years since the Order was made). Heard nothing from ex or his solicitor, but the house was on the market with a decent estate agent within two weeks, and lots of viewings went ahead. House was sold, I got my share.

I was really worried ex would force me to take it to court and represent myself, but I think his solicitor must have pointed out that I was completely within my rights to do that, and what would happen if I did.