If one person wants to sell house but other refuses

[mrssoap]

My parents jointly own their home outright. They have been separated now for almost 3 years, still living in same house but doing absolutely everything separately. They don't even talk. Have separate rooms ect literally nothing is done together. They both pay half the bills. No children involved as me and siblings are grown up.

Recently things have got very tense, I am reluctant to go into detail on here but my mum does not feel safe living there anymore. She wants to sell up and move on. Initially they both agreed house to go on market and it was done, however now my dad has decided to pull out and withdraw his consent.

My mum has no savings and cannot move on without this money from the house. She is seeing a solicitor but my question is, what normally happens in this situation?

I want what is best for both of them, but I think my dad is wrong in not selling (he can't buy her out). What is likely to come of this now that one wants to sell and one doesn't. It's jointly owned. Dad worked full time while mum had me and my siblings at home, she did go back to work when we were all at school part time, and then full time once all in secondary. So she has contributed financially to the house, aswel as the upkeep ect.

May be worth noting reason for split was my dads infidelity.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Would a divorce be able to force the sale of the house maybe? Why haven't they divorced if they've been separated for 3 years?

Never felt the need to as were living separate lives plodding along. Things have come to a head now and they can no longer carry on living together though. The solicitor has said about divorce so that's something that will happen too, but not sure if one can be forced to sell.

They need to divorce. There will be a financial settlement as part of that. If the only way for her to receive a fair share of the assets is for the house to be sold he will have to co-operate with a sale. If he does not do so the courts can force the issue.

Ok thank you that's helpful.

Your mum should be able to apply for a court order to force a sale. Please ask her to get some legal advice. CAB or Shelter might be a good starting point.

Echoing previous posters, your mother needs to instigate divorce proceedings and all assets (including property) will be dealt with in the financial settlement. If your mother files under adultery or unreasonable behaviour, then it seems difficult for your father to contest this (though arguably if he had endless funds to instruct solicitors, and was belligerent/stubborn, he could ensure the proceedings were long and drawn out, but hopefully he wouldn't be like that).

If there is an order that the house be sold, then the Court can effectively 'sign' the relevant paperwork if your father were to refuse to do so. If he acted utterly foolishly and refused to obey Court orders, then he could end up in prison for contempt of court, but that is extraordinary rare to happen (most people can behave sensibly if required).

I'd try and find a reputable family solicitor that your mother can instruct and get the process underway. Obviously if things can be agreed between your parents, then this would save time, money and stress. But if one or the other chooses to be difficult, then the process can take years, unfortunately.

Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately they can't be amicable and he's determined to take her to the cleaners (his words).