Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

What legal steps should I take for the following dilema: I have been divorced for 6 months. My divorce was granted in the state of Marylandand I moved to New Jersey after the divorce was final. In our settlement agreement we were to agree upon the sale of our marital home (time, price) etc.. because of the economy we had agreed to wait until the market improved. My ex continues to live in the marital home and pays the mortgage as agreed. We (my ex and I) have discussed numerous times a time line in which to place the home on the market and have verbally agreed several times to a date. Well each time the date approaches my ex comes up with some excuse to postpone listing the house because he needs to paint, repair etc. . I have offered numerous times to assist or hire someone but he always puts me off. The last time we agreed on a date (April 1st), I contacted him the week prior to finalize the listing. Again he stated the house wasn't ready. He also stated he hadn't agreed to that date ( I offered to send him a copy of the email we had exchanged) He declined. He followed up our corrospondence with an email stating I need to stop harrassing him. Needless to say nothing has happened with the house. What recourse do I have? I'm not in a position to hire another attorney.


Asked on 6/26/10, 8:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Strickler

File a motion asking the court to appoint a trustee to sell the house. The trustee steps into the shoes of the owners and has full authority to sell the property, including deciding whether to take any steps to improve the property (e.g. painting, making repairs) to facilitate the sale. The trustee is entitled to be compensated (different local rules establish this compensation; in most areas of Maryland, it is 4%), and the court has the discretion to assess the cost of the trustee against a non-compliant party.

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Answered on 6/26/10, 1:28 pm


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