Good to know: selling to us does not mean you have to do any of this yourself. A title company handles the closing paperwork.
Where things stand changes the answer
Nothing has been filed yet
No summons means the restraints below haven't started. That doesn't make it a free moment for one spouse to act alone. In Minnesota each spouse owes the other a fiduciary duty over marital assets during a case or when planning one. A court that finds property was moved or sold without consent can put both spouses back where they would have been, and having no restraining order is no defense.
In Wisconsin, assets of $500 or more given away or transferred for too little within a year before filing are presumed still divisible.
A sale you both want, before any case, is a different thing. It still needs both signatures, and it's still worth an hour with an attorney so the money gets handled the way you meant.
A case has been filed or served
The restraints on this page apply. Read the next section, and don't sign a listing or a purchase agreement until you know how consent or a court order will be shown. Your attorney can tell you what form that should take.
The decree has been entered
Do what the decree says. If it tells you to sell, it may set the terms. If it awarded the house to one of you, the next page you need is mortgage and title.
What the restraints say
Every summons carries a notice. Service makes it apply to both spouses, and it holds by operation of law until a further order or dismissal, unless more than one year has passed since the last filing.
Neither may dispose of any assets, except:
- for the necessities of life, or to generate needed income or preserve assets
- by an agreement in writing
- to retain a lawyer for the case
The notice also says all available insurance coverage must be kept without change, so don't let the homeowner's policy slide.
It starts sooner for one spouse: at filing for the filer, and at service for the other. It covers a divorce, and it asks for the other's consent or a court order, with its own short list of exceptions.
In plain words: the written agreement or the other spouse's consent is the door. A house is a large asset, so we wouldn't count selling it as "necessities" or "preservation of assets" on anyone's own say-so. Get it in writing, and let your attorneys see it first.
What can a court add?
Either spouse can ask for more, and neither should be surprised if the other does. In Minnesota that includes:
- A temporary order against transferring, encumbering, hiding or disposing of property, which has to be personally served, with notice of a hearing.
- Temporary use and possession of the family home for one spouse or both.
A Wisconsin court has similar temporary powers.
Can a court order the house sold?
In Minnesota, the statute we read covers a case still in progress. If it finds a sale necessary to preserve the marital assets, a court may order the homestead sold while the case is pending. It can also direct what happens to the money until the case ends. A partial distribution is possible for good cause, or if you both ask. That isn't the only way a court can end up deciding a sale. A final decree can deal with the house too, and we didn't read court decisions on this, so ask your attorney.
In Wisconsin, we didn't find a statute that says this either way. Ask your attorney.
Where does the sale money go?
Outside Minnesota's court-ordered sale above, we found no statute setting a rule for holding sale proceeds during a case. So it comes down to what you agree in writing or what a court orders. Agree on it before closing, and give the title company the same instructions from both sides. How the split is decided is covered in sell, keep, or buy out.
What if my spouse won't agree?
Then no one can close a sale on the homestead without a court's help, and that goes for us too. Going around a spouse isn't a shortcut. It's the thing these laws were written about. Your attorney can tell you what to ask the court for. If you've both got attorneys, have them talk. Minnesota's notice also encourages mediation and similar processes, though a person facing abuse isn't required to try mediation.
Sources for this page
Pages we read on 2026-11-05. Laws change, so check the current version or ask an attorney.
- Minn. Stat. 518.58 Division of marital property
- Wis. Stat. 767.63 Disposed assets may be subject to division
- Minn. Stat. 518.091 Summons; temporary restraining provisions
- Wis. Stat. 767.117 Prohibited acts during pendency of action
- Wis. Stat. 767.001 Definitions
- Minn. Stat. 518.131 Temporary orders and restraining orders
- Wis. Stat. 767.225 Orders during pendency of action