Selling a house during a divorce is one of the most stressful financial decisions you'll face at an already difficult time. There are legal considerations, emotional dynamics, and practical challenges that make the process more complicated than a typical home sale.
If you're going through a divorce in Georgia and need to sell your home, this guide covers everything you need to know — from how Georgia divides property to your selling options and how to get through it as cleanly as possible.
How Georgia Divides Property in a Divorce
Georgia is an equitable distribution state. That means marital property — including the family home — is divided "equitably," which does not necessarily mean 50/50. The court considers what is fair based on the circumstances of the marriage.
When a judge decides how to divide assets, they look at factors including:
- Length of the marriage
- Each spouse's financial condition — income, earning potential, debts, and separate assets
- Contributions to the marriage — both financial contributions and non-financial ones like homemaking and child-rearing
- Each spouse's role in acquiring the property — who made the down payment, who paid the mortgage, whose income funded improvements
- The needs of each spouse — especially regarding custody of minor children
- Any wasteful dissipation of assets — if one spouse recklessly spent or destroyed marital property
If the home was purchased during the marriage with marital funds, it's almost always considered marital property — regardless of whose name is on the deed. If one spouse owned the home before the marriage but the other spouse contributed to mortgage payments or improvements during the marriage, the non-owning spouse may have a claim to a portion of the equity.
Understanding this framework matters because it determines how much each spouse receives from the sale of the house. If you and your spouse can't agree on how to handle the property, the court will decide for you.
Who Decides Whether to Sell?
In a Georgia divorce, there are generally three ways the marital home gets handled:
1. Both Spouses Agree to Sell
This is the simplest and most common outcome. Both parties agree to list or sell the property, split the net proceeds according to their agreement (or the court's order), and move on. If you can reach this agreement early in the process, it eliminates one of the biggest sources of conflict.
2. One Spouse Buys Out the Other
If one spouse wants to keep the home — often because of children's school districts or emotional attachment — they can buy out the other spouse's share of the equity. This requires the keeping spouse to refinance the mortgage in their name alone and pay the other spouse their portion.
The challenge: Many spouses who want to keep the home can't qualify for a refinance on a single income, especially when legal fees and new living expenses are factored in.
3. The Court Orders the Sale
If the spouses can't agree, the court can order the property sold and the proceeds divided. In contested divorces, a judge may appoint a special master or receiver to manage the sale. This takes control away from both parties and often results in a less favorable outcome than a voluntary sale.
The bottom line: selling cooperatively almost always produces a better financial result for both parties than letting the court decide.
When to Sell: Before, During, or After the Divorce
The timing of the sale matters more than many divorcing couples realize. Each option has trade-offs.
Selling Before Filing for Divorce
Some couples sell the family home before they file for divorce, especially if both parties are in agreement and want a clean split.
Pros:
- You know exactly how much equity is available before negotiations begin
- No legal complications from selling marital property during litigation
- Can simplify the overall divorce process
- Both spouses are still cooperating, which often leads to better decision-making
Cons:
- You both need a place to live while the divorce is finalized
- If the divorce becomes contentious later, the sale proceeds become another asset to fight over
- You lose the option of one spouse keeping the home
Selling During the Divorce
This is the most common timing. The sale of the home is typically addressed as part of the divorce settlement or mediation.
Pros:
- The proceeds are divided as part of the overall settlement — everything is handled together
- A mediator or attorney can help structure the split fairly
- Both spouses have motivation to close the deal and move forward
Cons:
- Decision-making can be difficult if communication has broken down
- Disagreements about listing price, repairs, or accepting offers can delay the sale
- If one spouse is uncooperative, the court may need to intervene
- The emotional weight of the divorce can cloud financial judgment
Selling After the Divorce Is Finalized
In some cases, the divorce decree specifies that the home should be sold after the divorce is final, with proceeds split according to the agreement.
Pros:
- The emotional intensity of the divorce may have subsided
- Clear legal framework for how proceeds are divided
Cons:
- One or both spouses are still tied to the property — mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and maintenance continue
- If one spouse is living in the home, they may not be motivated to sell quickly
- Market conditions could change
- Continued financial entanglement with your ex-spouse
For most Georgia divorcing couples, selling during the divorce process — ideally through mediation or mutual agreement — produces the best outcome.
Selling Options During a Divorce
Once you've decided to sell, the question is how. The same three options available to any homeowner apply here, but each carries different implications during a divorce.
1. List with a Real Estate Agent
The traditional approach: hire an agent, prepare the home, list it on the MLS, and sell to a buyer on the open market.
Pros:
- Potentially the highest sale price
- The agent manages the process, reducing the need for direct spouse-to-spouse coordination
Cons:
- Agent commissions (5-6% of the sale price) reduce the proceeds available to split
- The home may need repairs, cleaning, or staging — who pays for that?
- Showings require coordination and cooperation between both spouses
- The process takes 60-90 days at minimum, extending the timeline of an already painful process
- Buyer financing can fall through, sending you back to square one
2. Sell For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
You and your spouse handle the sale yourselves without an agent.
Pros:
- No agent commission
- Full control over pricing and terms
Cons:
- Requires significant cooperation between divorcing spouses — often unrealistic
- Both parties must agree on price, negotiate with buyers, and manage the closing
- Time-consuming and stressful, especially during a divorce
- Legal risk if paperwork isn't handled correctly
3. Sell to a Cash Home Buyer
A cash buyer like Vlancia Home Buyers purchases the home directly, as-is, with a fast closing timeline. For divorcing couples, this option eliminates many of the complications that make selling during a divorce so difficult.
Pros:
- Close in as little as 7-14 days — no months of waiting
- No repairs, no staging, no showings, no open houses
- No agent commissions or seller-paid closing costs
- A clear, certain number both spouses can agree on before closing
- No risk of buyer financing falling through
- Simple, clean transaction — proceeds are divided and both parties move forward
Cons:
- A fast cash offer is typically below full retail market value
Why a Cash Sale Simplifies Divorce
Divorce is complicated enough without adding a drawn-out home sale to the process. Here's why so many divorcing couples in Atlanta choose to sell to a cash buyer:
Speed ends the entanglement faster. Every month you co-own a property with your ex-spouse is another month of shared financial obligations, joint decisions, and potential conflict. A cash sale that closes in 7-14 days lets both parties move on with their lives.
Certainty eliminates arguments. When you accept a cash offer, both spouses know exactly how much money is coming and when. There's no debating the listing price, no disagreements over whether to accept a lower offer, and no waiting for a buyer's financing to come through. You agree to the number, close, and split the proceeds.
No repairs means no new conflicts. Listing a home traditionally often means spending money on repairs, updates, and staging. During a divorce, every dollar spent on the house is a dollar that could go to each spouse's fresh start. Worse, deciding who pays for repairs — and which repairs to make — becomes yet another argument. Selling as-is eliminates all of it.
Clean proceeds, clean split. With no agent commissions (5-6%), no repair costs, and no surprises, the net proceeds from a cash sale are straightforward to calculate and divide. Your attorneys or mediator can structure the split clearly, and both parties walk away with their share at closing.
How Vlancia's Two-Path Approach Helps Divorcing Couples
At Vlancia Home Buyers, we understand that every divorce situation is different. That's why we offer two options — not just one:
Fast Cash Purchase: If both spouses want this over as quickly as possible, our Fast Cash option closes in as little as 7-14 days. We buy the home as-is, pay all closing costs, and both parties walk away with a check. This is the right choice when speed and certainty matter most.
Maximum Value (Hybrid): If the home is in decent condition and both parties want to maximize their proceeds, our Hybrid option can deliver significantly more money. We fund all the repairs and improvements, professionally stage and market the home, and sell it on the open market for full retail value. You and your spouse pay nothing out of pocket — and receive a much larger net payout when the home sells. This is ideal when the divorce timeline allows for a few additional weeks and both parties agree to maximize the return.
Both options eliminate the hassles of a traditional sale — no agent to hire, no repairs to argue over, no showings to coordinate, no uncertainty about closing.
Navigating the Emotional Side
We want to acknowledge something that most "how to sell your house" articles skip over: selling a home during a divorce is hard on a level that goes beyond logistics and finances.
This may be the home where you raised your children, celebrated holidays, or built a life you thought would last. Letting go of it — especially when the circumstances aren't what you chose — takes real emotional strength.
At Vlancia Home Buyers, we've worked with many Atlanta families going through divorce. Our team, led by Duane Alexander, treats every homeowner with patience, discretion, and respect. We keep the process simple and confidential. We don't ask unnecessary questions, and we move at whatever pace is comfortable for both parties.
You don't have to have everything figured out to reach out. Sometimes just understanding your options is the first step toward feeling more in control.
Ready to Explore Your Options?
If you're going through a divorce in Georgia and need to figure out what to do with your house, we can help you understand your options with zero pressure and zero obligation.
Get a free, no-obligation offer on your home from Vlancia Home Buyers. We'll give you a fair number you can take to your attorney or mediator, and you can decide from there.
Or call us directly at (404) 490-1526. We're a local, family-owned Atlanta company that's BBB A+ rated and Bloomberg featured. Every conversation is confidential, and we respond within 24 hours.