Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: selling joint property

In any divorce proceedings, either party may file motions to address "temporary" issues. Temporary issues means those issues that require resolution pending the final divorce trial or divorce resolution.

A court cannot address issues that are not properly brought before it by filing a Motion. As a result, the court cannot order the home sold at the next hearing unless one of the parties files a proper motion supported by an affidavit and relevant documentation which seeks that result.

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Re: selling joint property

At a temporary hearing your friend can, and probably should, request the sale of the home.

Whether the court will order the sale of this home depends on a variety of factors, among them, the county in which you live, the income of each of the parties, whether child support or maintenance has been awarded, and whether it is being paid.

Before a divorce is final, the court can order the sale of property (such as a home) if it will be necessary to preserve the asset -- that is, if it will be necessary to prevent equity in the home from being lost due to foreclosure, for example. If a home does not have any equity, or the mortgage was in default at the time the divorce started, the court may be reluctant to order the sale, or consider it unnecessary to do so.

Your friend plainly should be consulting an attorney about this matter and, I hope, he is represented in this proceeding.

If you would like any further information about this matter, my contact information is set forth below.

Thank you for your question.

John Jesperson