Selling a House During Divorce in Miami-Dade

Can You Sell a House During a Divorce in Miami-Dade Before It's Final?

Yes. Florida law (F.S. 61.075) lets spouses sell a jointly owned home by mutual agreement at any point during a divorce, and a court can order the sale if one spouse won't cooperate. Selling before the divorce is finalized can also let you claim the larger $500,000 joint capital gains exclusion instead of the $250,000 individual exclusion you're limited to after the decree. Most Miami-Dade couples close through mutual agreement and a title company, without ever needing a judge to get involved.

By Pedro Casanova | August 17, 2026

If you're going through a divorce and staring at a house you're not sure what to do with, you're not alone. It's one of the most common questions I get from clients in the middle of a separation — and it's usually asked with a mix of urgency and uncertainty. You need an answer, but you also don't want to make a move that costs you money or leverage later.

Here's what actually matters.

When You Both Agree — and When You Don't

If you and your spouse agree to sell, the process looks close to a normal Miami-Dade sale. You list the house, you both sign the listing agreement and the sales contract, and you both sign at closing regardless of whose name is on the mortgage. That last part surprises people. Most married couples in Florida hold title as "tenancy by the entireties," which means both spouses' signatures are required to convey the property no matter who's making the mortgage payment.

A written marital settlement agreement — even a partial one covering just the house — is the fastest path through this. It spells out how proceeds get split, who covers which costs, and what happens if the sale takes longer than expected. Get it ratified by the court and you avoid needing a judge to weigh in on the sale itself.

If one spouse won't agree, you have two options. You can ask the family court to order the sale as part of equitable distribution — Florida divides marital property fairly, not automatically 50/50, based on the length of the marriage and each spouse's financial contributions, and F.S. 61.075(4) lets the judgment itself act as a deed if a spouse refuses to sign. Or you can file a partition action asking a civil court to force the sale independent of the divorce case.

Neither path is fast. An uncontested partition action typically takes four to nine months. A contested one — where the parties fight over valuation, credits, or who contributed what — can run twelve to eighteen months and cost $10,000 to $30,000 or more in legal and appraisal fees. That's a real number to weigh against just agreeing to sell and splitting the proceeds.

The Financial Stakes: Taxes, the Mortgage, and Timing

The tax timing question catches a lot of people off guard. If you sell while you're still legally married — even if you're separated and the divorce is pending — you can potentially claim the $500,000 capital gains exclusion available to married couples filing jointly for that tax year. Wait until after the divorce is final, and each of you is limited to a $250,000 exclusion on your own return. On a Coral Gables or Pinecrest property that's appreciated significantly, that difference can be real money.

There's also the mortgage to think about. A divorce decree doesn't remove anyone's name from a mortgage — only the lender can do that, through a refinance. A quitclaim deed transfers ownership, not debt, which means if your name stays on the loan, you're still on the hook for it even after you're off the title. If your settlement agreement calls for one spouse to keep the house and refinance the other off, that refinance clause typically comes with a deadline — often 90 days to six months after the final judgment — and refinancing costs run 2% to 5% of the loan amount and takes 30 to 45 days to close. If the refinance falls through, most agreements default back to a sale.

Selling instead of refinancing has a simpler upside: it stops the shared mortgage liability immediately, gives both of you liquid proceeds, and removes one more thing you have to coordinate as you're separating your finances. Every month you stay jointly obligated on a mortgage is a month of financial exposure if your ex misses a payment or the market shifts.

How Closing Works in Miami-Dade

Once you've agreed to sell — whether by mutual consent or court order — the Miami-Dade closing process runs like any other sale. A title company handles the closing, not an attorney, though it's worth having your own divorce attorney review the contract and settlement terms alongside your real estate agent. You'll owe documentary stamp tax at closing — $0.60 per $100 of the sale price on a single-family home in Miami-Dade — plus standard title insurance and prorated property taxes. If the final judgment hasn't been entered yet, proceeds typically go into escrow until the divorce is finalized or your settlement agreement specifies otherwise.

Pricing and timing the sale well matters more here than in a typical transaction, because delays compound stress and cost on both sides. This is exactly the kind of situation I walk clients through before we even talk about listing — figuring out what the house will actually net, what the timeline looks like against your case, and how to keep the sale from becoming another point of conflict.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do both spouses have to agree to sell the house in a Miami-Dade divorce?

Ideally, yes — mutual agreement is the fastest and cheapest path, and both spouses must sign the closing documents regardless of whose name is on the mortgage. If one spouse won't agree, Florida courts can order the sale under F.S. 61.075, or either spouse can file a partition action to force it.

What happens if my spouse refuses to sign the closing documents?

A court can appoint a special master to sign on their behalf, or the final judgment itself can function as a deed under F.S. 61.075(4), making the refusing spouse's signature unnecessary. This still requires going through the family court process, so it takes longer than a mutual sale.

Do we have to wait until the divorce is final to sell?

No. You can sell at any point during the divorce process if you both agree, and doing so before the final judgment can preserve your ability to claim the $500,000 joint capital gains exclusion instead of the $250,000 individual exclusion.

Who pays the mortgage and closing costs when you sell during a divorce?

That's typically spelled out in your marital settlement agreement, and it's negotiable — some couples split costs evenly, others adjust the split based on who's been covering the mortgage during separation. If there's no agreement yet, this is one of the first things to resolve before listing.

What's a partition action, and when do I need one?

A partition action is a separate civil lawsuit asking a court to force the sale of jointly owned property when co-owners can't agree. You'd typically only need one if your spouse is refusing to cooperate and the divorce case itself isn't moving the sale forward — it's a slower, more expensive path than reaching agreement, so it's usually a last resort.

If you're trying to figure out what your house would actually net, what your timeline looks like, or how to keep the sale from becoming another source of conflict, I offer a free buying or selling strategy session — no pressure, just a straight conversation about where you stand and what your options are. You can grab a time here.

About Pedro Casanova

Pedro Casanova is a real estate broker that leads The KREN Group real estate team serving the Southeast Florida area. They specialize in helping people build wealth through real estate by helping buyers and sellers maximize their opportunity in every transaction. Connect with the team at www.thekrengroup.com.

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