Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
sale of marital residence
My PSA addresses the sale of our marital residence as such: To be sold at my convenience with the proceeds going to the cost of the sale of home, including current mortgage, 2nd to all loans secured by the home and 3rd to me. Until this time I am entitled to the exclusive use and possesion of home. My name is not on the deed, mortgage or the Equity Loan. I'm ready to sell and hired a realtor. My ex-husband will not sign the papers required for the sale of home with the realtor I chose. He will not tell me what is owed on the home equity loan and says that he will choose a realtor.His wife called the realtor I had chose and told her they would not be needing her services and I was only a tenent in the home. My question is:Can I choose whomever I want to sell the home or will I be required to use the realtor of his choice? He refuses to reimburse my attorney fees for the divorce, per agreement,and I just don't see how I will ever see any money from the sale of the home.Does his wife have the right to make those types of phonecalls to realtor? Can she call the school and talk with teachers about our son? She has already spoken to our sons counsler without my prior knowledge.Thank you for any help you may provide.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: sale of marital residence
If in fact your former spouse is is serious noncompliance with the terms of your Property Settlement Agreement(PSA), I would suggest that you take these matters up with the lawyer who represented you in your divorce. It may be, nevertheless, that there is sufficient ambiguity in the language of your PSA that you may not necessarily be entitled to choose the realtor to carry out the sale and that a struggle over this issue would serve little purpose other than to exacerbate whatever other grievances may still be simmering in the background from the divorce.
Re: sale of marital residence
If the PSA does not give you powers relating to the sale of the home then you do not have them. If your convenience is all that is needed to trigger a sale, and you are at that point, how and for what it's sold for does not seem to be up to you. Hard to know for sure unless I read the PSA
You do have the right to an accounting since the prceeds go to you after expenses. If he will not disclose you can get the judge to force him. Again you only have the rights as to the sale as the PSA gives you. Since he has all other rights his wife can do what she did.
If he does not do what the court ordered him to do (like pay your atty) the you need to reopen the divorce case, issue a show cause for contempt of court for failing to obey the order.
As concerns your child's school life, she is a step parent and can discuss your child with his teachers. You can do so also of course but you need to make it clear that step mother has no decision making authority with them.
Good luck
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