When a court orders the sale

What an order changes

In a negotiated sale, the two of you decide everything together. With an order, some of those decisions have already been made by a judge, and the rest follow its wording. That can feel like losing control. In practice it can mean fewer arguments, because there's a document to point to.

My first step is to read the order with each of you and list every term that affects the sale, then send that list to both of your attorneys to confirm we're reading it correctly.

If either of you disagrees with the order itself, that's a conversation with your attorney, not with me. I'll keep the house ready while you have it.

The law behind it, briefly

In a dissolution, ORS 107.105 directs the court to divide property as may be just and proper in all the circumstances, with a rebuttable presumption that both spouses contributed equally to property acquired during the marriage. The court also considers reasonable costs of sale, taxes and other reasonably expected costs.

Outside of divorce, Oregon's partition statute, ORS 105.205, lets co-owners ask a court to divide property, and the court can order a sale when it can't be divided without great prejudice. How partition and a divorce case interact is not something I can tell you. Your attorney can. Bring both statutes to your attorney meeting by name.

Terms I look for

I don't guess. If any of these is missing, I won't fill the gap with my own judgment. I'll write down the question and send it to both of you to take to your attorneys, so the answer comes from the people who can actually give it. I also check the order against the title report, since the names on title and the names in the order should match, and any difference is something your attorneys will want fixed well before closing.

• A date the house must be listed or sold by
• How the list price is set, and who approves a reduction
• Whether the court named who chooses the agent
• Who pays the mortgage and carrying costs until closing
• How the net proceeds are paid out, and to whom
• What happens if one of you won't sign

Why I keep a record

In a court-ordered sale, someone may later ask whether the house was marketed fairly. So I keep a dated log of every showing, every piece of buyer feedback, each price discussion and each offer, and I send it to both of you as it grows. If either attorney asks for it, it's ready. Either of you can ask for the log at any time.

The log protects you both. It also protects the sale.

I also note who I spoke to and when, including buyer's agents who called with questions and never booked a showing, because a gap in the record is exactly what leads one side to wonder what was left out.

Arbitration and mediation by county

If the property is still in dispute, your county's local rules may offer a step before a judge decides. Linn and Benton counties' SLR 13.005 lets the court require arbitration when property and debt are the only issues. Benton's SLR 12.015 lets parties agree to mediate property, debt and support. Douglas and Lane rules have no property mediation program, though Lane parties can agree to use an independent mediator.

Ask your attorney whether one of these could settle things sooner.

Not every case fits these. An arbitrator or mediator who hears the property questions early can sometimes settle what happens to the house before anyone has to ask a judge, which may spare both of you the cost and the wait of a contested hearing.

Questions for your attorney

Write the answers down. Then send them to me, and I'll make sure the title company gets the same instructions from both sides, in writing, before anyone schedules a signing, so closing day isn't the first time anyone reads the order closely.

• Does the order say who picks the agent and how the price is set?
• If the order is silent on something, do we need to go back to the court or can we agree in writing?
• What happens if one of us refuses to sign the listing or the deed?
• Where do the proceeds go at closing, and does anything come off the top?
• Can we agree to lower the price ourselves, or does a reduction need the court's approval?