Courts · Answer
Can the court make us sell the house in an Oregon divorce?
The short answer
In a divorce, an Oregon court divides property as may be just and proper in all the circumstances under ORS 107.105, and the house is part of that property. Whether your judgment awards it to one of you or directs a sale depends on your case. Your attorney can tell you how a judge is likely to see it.
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The divorce court
ORS 107.105 gives the court the job of dividing property when you can't agree. The standard is what's just and proper in all the circumstances. There's a rebuttable presumption that both spouses contributed equally to property acquired during the marriage, and the court considers reasonable costs of sale, taxes and other costs you can reasonably expect. That last part matters. The real cost of selling a house is part of the picture the judge looks at. If you're working toward a settlement instead of a trial, that same standard is the backdrop, and your attorney can tell you how it shapes what's reasonable to ask for.
I can't predict what a judge will do with your house. I'm a broker, not an attorney, and that prediction is exactly what your attorney is for.
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Partition, in brief
Oregon also has a separate law for co-owners in general. Under ORS 105.205 and the sections after it, co-owners can ask a court to partition property, and the court can order a sale when the property can't be divided without great prejudice to the owners. It's a different statute entirely.
How partition fits with a divorce case is not something I'll guess at. If you're thinking about it, ask your attorney before you do anything else. The details of your deed and your divorce filing both matter here, which is why I send partition questions straight to an attorney.
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If a sale is ordered
When a judgment directs a sale, I follow its terms and work for the sale itself. Both of you get the same pricing data, the same showing feedback and the same offers at the same time. If the judgment names who picks the agent or how the price is set, that's what we do. If it leaves those open, we write them down together, as described in the judgment says sell but gives no deadline. Even when neither of you wanted to sell, the work is the same: price it from the comps, prepare it well, market it to every buyer and report to both owners equally from the first showing to the last signature. That part doesn't change.
Read more about how a court-ordered sale runs. It has more paperwork than an agreed one, but it can still be calm. Both of you still get a written estimate of the net before we list.
Sources · checked 23 Oct 2026
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