The Answer Is That It Depends

Video Transcribed: Can You Sell Marital Property During a Divorce? My name is Brian L. Jackson, I am a Father’s rights attorney in Oklahoma. I want to talk to you today about whether or not you can sell the marital property during dependency on a divorce.

This is a somewhat complicated issue that can sometimes come up. Divorces are expensive, and you could be talking about thousands of dollars in a retainer that most people don’t have just laying around.

You definitely do want a lawyer if you’re getting divorced. Even if it’s a so-called uncontested divorce, there are still ways that you can get jacked up really quick. It’s always a good idea to have a lawyer if you’re going through a divorce.

Can you sell the marital property to raise those funds that you don’t have just sitting around? Now, the answer is that it depends. If there is a pending divorce and you’ve already been served, that means that the automatic temporary injunction that applies under Title 43 will be enforced.

Now, there are exceptions to that, and attorney’s fees are one of those exceptions. But, you should be careful because the injunction does expressly prohibit liquidating marital assets among other things, other than in the normal course of business.

This is something that you really want to be careful with, and before you do that, take that opportunity if you get the initial consultation with the attorney to specifically talk to them about your unique circumstances because it could be contempt of court.

Now, if you have not filed yet and she has not filed yet, and it’s up in the air, nobody’s filed anything, then yes, you can sell something and you can use that money to pay a lawyer. Also, if you haven’t been served with the injunction yet, then it’s technically not enforced against you. Although, again, that’s a situation where talk to somebody first. If you can get theinitial strategy session that’s one question to ask at the initial session is, am I okay to sell this to pay a fee.

Because you want to be a hundred percent sure. Even if you have a good defense to contempt, the best defense to contempt, like any other criminal proceeding, is don’t end up being cited in the first place. Guys, if you are looking down the barrel of divorce, you need a good lawyer. One place you can find a good lawyer is at Dads.Law, where fathers are not disposable.