Is there a legal remedy to force the sale of marital property?

[Mike Brown]

Hello! I have a property under contract. Property and all parties are in Missouri. Only the wife's name is on the title and the purchase contract is only between me and the wife. I understand that Missouri is a marital property state. The property was, indeed, purchased while the owners were married. They're still married. The husband doesn't like the terms of the contract. My understanding is that he must still sign some type of paperwork for the deal to close. If the husband refuses to sign, is there a legal remedy to force the sale since there's a contract? I'm planning on also asking this question to the attorney tomorrow when I sign the closing docs. Thanks!

[JD Martin]

Courts can force property sales. It depends how bad she wants to sell and how much time and money everyone is willing to invest in lawyers and court proceedings to make it happen. Courts order divestment of joint property all the time when compromise cannot be reached. That doesn't mean you have a valid contract. If the parties aren't already divorced (you say they're still married) I don't see you coming out of this with anything; if she just wants to sell, but he doesn't, and he hasn't signed a contract to sell, you have no deal. You have no legitimate contract without the signatures of all property owners on the contract.