After The Divorce
Writen by Kevin J Waite on Tuesday, March 25, 2025
WHAT IS ONE’S RECOURSE WHEN THE OTHER SIDE REFUSES TO SELL OR SPLIT REAL ESTATE OR “BELONGINGS” If, after your divorce is finalized, your ex decides not to comply with the order - What can you do?
Often real estate has been ordered sold, and the belongings inside need to be split. There usually are also adult toys, as in cars, trucks, boats, atv’s, jet skis, etc., that have been divided by the court or ordered to be sold
Sometimes the other party refuses to comply or drags his or her feet.
This situation happens a lot more than one might expect. But on the bright side, now that you are divorced you can talk to each other without going through your respective attorneys, so the first (and cheapest) avenue would be to simply talk to, e-mail, or text, your ex and ask what the hang-up is with the issue. If the answer is something simple like they forgot and (thanks for the reminder) or a good excuse like ( a family member died, the abode they are living in burned down, etc.) then give them a pass for a period of time. A good idea is to calendar when you made contact with them about the issue so that you can refer to the length of time that has passed if you need to remind them a second time.
If it becomes obvious they are purposefully not respecting the Order than you need to call your attorney (the one that represented you in the divorce) and talk to them, they will probably either call the attorney that represented your ex, or the ex themselves (if they never had an attorney or if that attorney is no longer representing them) , and ask them what is going on and hopefully get the problem resolved.
If it becomes clear that the other side is simply not going to respect what is ordered of them then enforcement or contempt proceedings should be considered. This will cost both sides more attorney fees and both parties need to contemplate if the issue is worth it.
Sadly, this situation happens more often than you would expect and it is annoying when more money needs to be spent to get a final resolution.