Can You Sell a House During a Divorce in Florida? Who Signs and How the Money Is Split

Not alone. While you are married and own the house together, one spouse generally cannot make the other sell outside the divorce case. Section 64.031 of the Florida Statutes lets joint tenants, tenants in common and coparceners file for partition. It does not mention tenants by the entirety, a form of ownership for married couples.

Once a divorce is filed, the judge decides. Section 61.075 tells the court to divide marital assets and name which spouse gets each one. One spouse may keep the house and pay the other, the house may be sold, or a sale may wait. Section 61.075(1)(h) lets the judge weigh keeping the home as a residence for a dependent child when that is fair and financially feasible.

If the final judgment does not deal with the house, section 689.15 makes spouses who held title by the entirety tenants in common, and a tenant in common can file for partition. Section 64.041 lists what the complaint must say. Section 64.071 lets the court order a public auction if the house cannot be divided, and section 64.081 shares costs and attorney fees by ownership interest. Homestead does not block this. In Tullis v. Tullis (1978), the Florida Supreme Court allowed a forced partition sale of a divorced couple’s home. The judgment had not dealt with it, neither spouse had exclusive possession, and a sale was the only way for the co-owner to get the benefit of her share. Partition is a separate lawsuit that takes the timing and the price out of your hands.

Start with the last recorded deed. If both names are on it, both spouses sign. If one name is on it, the answer depends on whether the house is homestead. Article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution says the owner of homestead real estate, “joined by the spouse if married,” may sell, mortgage or give away the homestead. So while you are married, expect a title company to want the non-owner spouse to sign the deed on a homestead.

The constitution describes homestead as the residence of the owner or the owner’s family, so the owner moving out does not by itself settle the question. Your attorney and the title company make that call. A spouse who agrees but cannot attend closing can join through a power of attorney signed with the same formalities as a deed, under section 689.111. Joining does not change who owns what: section 61.075(6)(a)1.d says a joinder made only to convey homestead to someone else does not turn the property or its proceeds into marital property.

A house that is not homestead is different. Section 61.075(8) says that statute does not require spouses to join in conveying a spouse’s individual property. A rental in one spouse’s name can still be a marital asset, though, and a title company may still ask for the other signature, especially if a notice of lis pendens under section 48.23 is on record.

After the final judgment, the spouse rule no longer applies. A former spouse still on the deed signs as a co-owner unless the judgment moved title. Under section 61.075(4), a judgment distributing assets works like a recorded deed once it or a certified copy is recorded in the official records of the county where the house sits.

The deed says who owns the house. The note says who owes the money. If one spouse is on the deed and both signed the note, both owe the lender. On a homestead, both will usually sign at closing anyway, one as owner and one joining.

If you sell for enough to cover the payoff, the loan is paid at closing and the debt ends for both of you. Our guide to selling a house with a mortgage in Florida shows how the payoff works.

If one spouse keeps the house, a deed does not solve the loan. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a divorce decree can allocate a debt to one spouse, but a creditor can still collect from anyone named as a borrower, and taking your name off a title does not take it off the mortgage. You are generally released only if the creditor releases you or your former spouse refinances and removes your name. To release the other borrower, the spouse who stays generally has to assume the loan and meet the lender’s underwriting standards.

If you are both moving instead, our guide to homestead portability when selling explains what can move with you.

Yes, if you agree. Before anyone files, there is no case and no status quo order, so the sale works like any other sale by a married couple. If the house is homestead, one spouse still cannot sell it alone.

Selling first does not take the money out of the divorce. Under section 61.075(7), the cut-off date for classifying marital assets is the earliest of a valid separation agreement, a date set by that agreement, or the filing of the petition. Family Law Rule 12.285 generally requires parties to produce deeds for property held at any time during the last 3 years, so the sale will show up. Section 61.075(1)(i) also lets the judge consider intentional dissipation of marital assets after filing or within 2 years before it.

Couples can put in writing who holds the proceeds and how they will be divided. A Florida family law attorney can say whether that should be a separation agreement, which can also set the cut-off date.

Florida’s statewide Family Law Rules of Procedure do not contain a standing order on assets, but some circuits have adopted their own.

In Broward, Seventeenth Circuit Administrative Order 2019-15-UFC adopts a Status Quo Temporary Domestic Relations Order. Paragraph 7 says neither party will “conceal, damage, nor dispose of any asset, whether jointly or separately owned,” except by written consent of the parties or an order of court. It binds the petitioner on filing and the respondent on service, and it ends at final judgment. Use of the order is up to each judge, who shows it in the division’s procedures. The Broward Clerk’s family page says parties “may be required to comply” with it.

In Miami-Dade, Eleventh Circuit Administrative Order 14-13 adopts a status quo order with the same paragraph 7. It dates from 2014, the court’s list shows it as not rescinded, and the court’s self-help divorce packets include an acknowledgment of it. The presiding judge can change its terms.

Both orders let a party with a pending contract or transaction ask the judge for expedited relief if the spouses cannot resolve it, which matters if the house was under contract when the case was filed.

In Palm Beach County, we did not find a matching status quo order in the Fifteenth Circuit’s published family administrative orders. Its Administrative Order 5.207 puts temporary relief issues, including equitable distribution, on the evidentiary motion calendar, and no hearing is set until the parties have gone to mediation and reached an impasse. Your attorney can confirm whether anything has been entered in your case.

If you need money before the case ends, section 61.075(5) lets a judge order an interim partial distribution on a sworn motion showing extraordinary circumstances. The statute’s examples include needing funds to avoid foreclosure or a default on a marital debt, or to pay reasonable attorney fees.

A spouse living in the house can stall a sale by refusing showings or declining to sign. What happens next depends on whether an order or signed agreement covers the sale.

If nothing covers it, the question goes to the family judge. Both status quo orders let either party apply for further temporary orders, and both require mediation before a final hearing unless an exception applies. On a homestead, expect a title company to require the signature or a court order before closing.

If a judgment requires the sale, it can be enforced. Family Law Rule 12.570 says a judgment for a specific act must state the time to perform it. If the act is not done, the rule allows a writ of attachment after an affidavit, or the court may hold the person in contempt or appoint a non-party to perform the act. A judgment for a conveyance has the effect of a signed deed once recorded. That is why a settlement that sets deadlines, says who picks the price and says when the house must be available is easier to enforce than a general promise to sell.

At closing, the mortgage, liens and costs are paid first. What remains is for the two of you, or the judge, to divide. Section 61.075(1) starts from an equal split of marital assets unless factors such as contributions, economic circumstances, the length of the marriage or intentional dissipation justify otherwise.

A house held as tenants by the entirety is presumed marital, and the spouse claiming otherwise has the burden of proof. A house owned before the marriage is generally nonmarital, but mortgage principal paid from marital funds and a share of passive appreciation can be marital under a formula in section 61.075(6)(a)1.c.

For taxes, IRS Publication 523 lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if you meet the tests. You generally must have owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale. On a joint return, one spouse can meet the ownership test, but each must meet the residence test for the full exclusion. IRS Publication 504 says you are treated as married for the whole year if you have no final decree by the last day of your tax year.

Publication 523 also has divorce rules. A transfer to a spouse or ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement generally has no gain or loss, unless that spouse is a nonresident alien. The spouse who receives the house generally takes the old tax basis, so a later sale can carry the gain. If you moved out but still own the home, you can treat it as your residence while your spouse is allowed to live there under a divorce or separation instrument and uses it as a main home. If you miss the tests, divorce is listed as an unforeseeable event that can support a partial exclusion. A CPA can run these numbers.

If the payoff and closing costs are more than the sale price, the sale cannot close unless someone covers the gap or the lender agrees to take less. A cash offer does not change that math. The CFPB describes a short sale as a sale for less than you owe, and it depends on your lender or servicer agreeing.

The CFPB says to ask the lender to waive the deficiency before a short sale and to get any waiver in writing. Under section 702.06 of the Florida Statutes, a deficiency decree is at the court’s discretion. On owner-occupied residential property, the amount may not exceed the difference between the judgment amount, or in a short sale the outstanding debt, and the fair market value on the date of sale.

The judge can assign a shortfall to one spouse, since section 61.075(3)(c) requires the judgment to name who is responsible for each marital liability. That works between the two of you. A creditor can still collect from either borrower. If payments are already behind, our Florida foreclosure timeline shows how the process moves.

Forgiven debt can be taxable. IRS Topic 431, last reviewed in September 2026, lists the exclusion for qualified principal residence debt only for debt discharged before January 1, 2026, or under a written arrangement made before that date. Bankruptcy and insolvency exclusions are still listed. Publication 4681 says each jointly liable borrower may get a Form 1099-C showing the whole amount, though you may not have to report all of it.

A cash sale can fit when both spouses want a clean end, the house needs repairs, or neither of you wants months of showings. Florida Cash For Home is a direct cash home buyer based in Hollywood; our page on selling a house during a divorce covers the basics. We make a written offer within 24 hours of the walkthrough and can close in about 10 days when title is clear, or later if you prefer. You pay no commissions or closing costs, we buy as-is, and we work in English and Spanish. We buy across Broward County, Miami-Dade County and the rest of South Florida.

It may not fit if the house is in good shape, you have time and you can both cooperate with showings. A listing may net you more. Compare both with our cash offer vs. listing guide. A cash buyer also cannot settle your dispute. Every required signature, court order and lender approval still applies, and we do not give legal advice or take sides between spouses.