Both spouses have to sign — even if only one is on the deed
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this situation, so here is the statute. Texas Family Code § 5.001: "Whether the homestead is the separate property of either spouse or community property, neither spouse may sell, convey, or encumber the homestead without the joinder of the other spouse."
Read that again if the house is in one name only. It does not matter whose name is on the deed, and it does not matter who paid the down payment. If it is the homestead, both spouses join the conveyance or there is no sale a title company will insure. There are narrow exceptions in that chapter — § 5.002 covers a spouse judicially declared incapacitated — and whether one applies is a question for a lawyer.
The practical consequence: no buyer, including us, can rescue a sale that one spouse will not sign. If the two of you are not in agreement about selling, the thing to resolve first is the agreement, not the buyer.
What decides what happens to the house
A divorce decree, or a property settlement agreement that becomes part of one, is what determines who gets the house or how the proceeds get split. Until there is one, what a court might do is a question for your attorney, and it depends on facts we do not have and are not qualified to weigh.
What we can tell you is the part that touches a sale: the title company will want to see the decree if one exists, and the terms of that decree are what they will follow at closing when the money is disbursed. If you are still in the middle of the case, tell us — it changes the sequence, not necessarily the outcome.
We are not going to guess at Texas property division on a web page. Community property, separate property, reimbursement claims, temporary orders, whether one spouse can buy the other out and refinance — every one of those belongs with a family-law attorney who has read your file.
One disclosure detail that works in your favour
Texas Property Code § 5.008 normally requires a seller of a home to give the buyer a written notice of the property's condition. Under § 5.008(e)(8), that section does not apply to a transfer "between spouses resulting from a decree of dissolution of marriage or a decree of legal separation or from a property settlement agreement incidental to such a decree."
That exemption is about transfers between the two of you — not automatically about the later sale to an outside buyer. Whether it reaches a particular transaction is a title-company and attorney question, and we are flagging it so you can ask, not so you can assume.
Where a cash sale genuinely helps
One closing date, one set of numbers
A listing has an unknowable timeline: days on market, an offer, an inspection, a buyer's lender, a possible collapse in week five. Two people trying to finish a divorce around that are negotiating an open variable. A cash sale replaces it with a date you both agree to in advance.
Nobody has to live there to sell it
A conventionally listed house has to be presentable and shown, which usually means someone is maintaining it and letting strangers in on Saturdays. That is a hard thing to organise between two households that are separating.
No repair negotiation to argue about
Inspection findings on a listed house become one more thing to disagree about and pay for jointly. We buy as-is, so there is no repair list to fight over.
The title company disburses, not us
Proceeds are paid out at a licensed title company according to the decree or the written agreement between you. Neither of you has to trust the other to handle money, and neither has to trust us with it.
How we behave in this situation
We deal with both spouses, or with both attorneys, on the same information. We will not carry messages, take a side, or be used as leverage by one of you against the other. If we are told two different things, we will say so plainly rather than quietly picking whichever version closes faster.
We will not pressure anyone toward a signature. If one of you is not ready, there is nothing here for us to close, and we would rather hear that early.
And the same honest limit as everywhere else on this site: we pay less than the house would bring listed and repaired. If the house is in good shape, you both agree, and neither of you is under time pressure, listing it will very likely net the two of you more to divide.
If you do not have a lawyer yet
Almost every question on this page that is not about the sale itself is a question for a family-law attorney. If you need one and are not sure where to start:
State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral Service
A short, low-cost consultation with a vetted attorney.
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Serves El Paso, free for those who qualify, and bilingual.
Plain-language articles and free forms on Texas divorce, with Spanish versions.
FAQ
Can one spouse sell the house without the other?
Not the homestead. Texas Family Code § 5.001 says neither spouse may sell, convey, or encumber the homestead without the other joining — whether it is community property or the separate property of one of them, and regardless of whose name is on the deed. Narrow exceptions exist in that chapter; ask a lawyer whether any applies to you.
Can we sell before the divorce is final?
Often yes, if both of you agree and any court orders in place allow it. Sometimes selling before the decree is exactly what makes the rest simpler, because it turns an asset nobody can agree on into a number. Your attorneys should confirm it against any temporary orders in your case.
How do the proceeds get split?
By your decree or your written settlement agreement — the title company disburses according to those at closing. If neither exists yet, that split is what your attorneys are working out, and it is not something we determine or advise on.
What if one of us wants to keep the house?
Then a sale may be the wrong tool. Buying out the other spouse usually involves refinancing so only one name remains on the loan, which is a lender question and an attorney question. If that path works, take it — we will not try to talk you out of it.
What if we cannot agree on anything?
Then there is nothing for us to close, and we will tell you that instead of stringing it out. Both signatures are required, so a buyer cannot break a deadlock. That is what your attorneys and the court are for.
We are not attorneys and this page is not legal advice. Texas Family Code § 5.001 and Texas Property Code § 5.008 are quoted here from the statutes themselves, but how Texas divides property, what your decree means, and what you may or may not do while a case is pending all depend on facts only a family-law attorney who has read your file can assess.
