The short answer
Nevada is a community property state. In general, property either spouse acquired during the marriage is community property (NRS 123.220), and the divorce court is directed to divide it equally to the extent practicable (NRS 125.150). Neither spouse can sell community real property alone. Both must sign and acknowledge the deed (NRS 123.230).
In a Clark County divorce, either spouse can ask the clerk for a joint preliminary injunction (EDCR 5.703). Once it is in effect, selling community property needs the written consent of the parties or the court’s permission. Whatever you decide about the house, the mortgage follows the loan documents, not the decree, and IRS Publication 523 governs the tax side.
This is not legal advice. Talk to a Nevada attorney. Each spouse has separate interests, and each should have their own counsel. This guide explains the statutes, court rules and federal guidance as published, checked on the date above.
Step 1: Decide whether the house is community or separate property
Under NRS 123.220, property acquired after marriage by either or both spouses is community property. The exceptions include a written agreement between the spouses and a few statutory cases. Under NRS 123.130, property a spouse owned before marriage, or received afterwards by gift, bequest, devise or descent, is that spouse’s separate property.
Real houses are messier. A home bought before the wedding but paid down together, refinanced into both names, or improved with separate money is a question for a family law attorney. The name on the title does not settle it.
When granting a divorce, the court disposes of property held in joint tenancy the same way it does community property. It may reimburse a spouse who put traceable separate property into buying or improving it (NRS 125.150(2)).
Step 2: Both spouses sign to sell community real property
Either spouse can generally manage community property, but under NRS 123.230(3), neither spouse may sell, convey or encumber community real property unless both join in the deed or other instrument and both acknowledge it. Neither spouse may give community property away without the other’s consent (NRS 123.230(2)).
The two-signature rule applies before, during and after the divorce case, until the decree or an agreement changes who owns the house.
Step 3: Check for a joint preliminary injunction in Clark County
Clark County family cases go to the Family Division of the Eighth Judicial District Court. Its rules include EDCR 5.703, Joint preliminary injunctions (JPI). Older secondary sources call this rule 5.517. The rule as currently published is 5.703, amended effective June 10, 2022.
The rule sets out:
- Who can get one. Any party, at any time before a decree of divorce or final judgment. The clerk issues it on request (EDCR 5.703(a)).
- What it prohibits. Transferring, encumbering, concealing, selling or otherwise disposing of joint, common or community property, including property claimed as community. The exceptions are the usual course of conduct, the necessities of life and retaining counsel for the case. It also covers retirement benefits and insurance, and it refers to acting “without the written consent of the parties or the permission of the court.”
- When it takes effect. Against the requesting party when issued, and against the other party on service (EDCR 5.703(c)).
- How long it lasts. Until the decree or final judgment, or until the court modifies or dissolves it (EDCR 5.703(d)).
- Enforcement. It is treated as a court order, enforceable by all remedies provided by law, including contempt (EDCR 5.703(c)).
A JPI exists only if one of you asked for it. Separately, NRS 125.050 lets the court restrain a party once a divorce complaint is filed, if it finds it probable the party is about to act in a way that would defeat its eventual property orders. Ask your attorney which orders are in place before you sign a listing agreement or a purchase contract.
Your options for the house
Option 1: Sell now and split the proceeds
Both spouses sign the listing or purchase agreement and the deed. With a JPI in place, you also document written consent or get the court’s permission. The loan is paid off at closing, and the net proceeds are divided as you agree or as the court orders.
With time and a house that shows well, a traditional listing will usually net more than a cash sale. A cash sale fits when the house needs work neither spouse wants to fund, or when one of you has moved out and carrying costs are adding up. It also fits when you both want a fixed closing date and a buyer whose financing cannot fall through.
Option 2: One spouse buys the other out
One spouse keeps the house and compensates the other for their share, for example through the property settlement. The title has to change, and the loan has to be dealt with. A deed alone does not remove anyone from the mortgage, as the next section explains.
IRS Publication 523 treats a transfer of the home, or a share in it, to a spouse or ex-spouse as part of a divorce settlement as no gain or loss. The spouse who keeps the house can count the time the other spouse owned it toward the ownership test when they later sell.
Option 3: One spouse stays in the house for now
Some couples agree, or a decree provides, that one spouse stays in the house for a period before a sale. Under Publication 523, if your spouse or former spouse is allowed to live in the home under a divorce or separation instrument and uses it as their main home, you can treat it as your residence for the exclusion. That holds even after you move out.
If both names stay on the mortgage, both of you stay responsible for it.
A deed does not take you off the mortgage
According to the CFPB, a divorce decree or property settlement may allocate debts to one spouse, but a creditor can still collect from anyone named as a borrower. Taking your name off the title does not take it off the mortgage. You generally remain responsible unless the lender contractually releases you, or your former spouse refinances and removes your name. Sending your lender a copy of the decree does not end your responsibility.
The spouse who keeps the house may want to assume the existing loan instead of refinancing. A December 2024 CFPB issue spotlight reported problems homeowners faced after a divorce. Some were incorrectly told they had to refinance at higher rates. Others waited months or longer for servicers to process assumption requests. The spotlight notes that CFPB rules require servicers to have policies to promptly verify successor homeowners, meaning people who become owners through divorce, and to give them account information once confirmed.
A sale avoids most of this, because the existing loan is paid off at closing.
When one spouse won’t cooperate
You cannot sell a community-property house on one signature (NRS 123.230). A buyer who suggests working around the other spouse is proposing a transaction that can be challenged later. If a JPI is in place, it can also expose you to contempt (EDCR 5.703).
The way forward runs through your attorney and the judge in your divorce case. The court disposes of community property under NRS 125.150, and under EDCR 5.703 it can give the permission a JPI otherwise requires. Whether a judge will allow or order a sale over one spouse’s objection depends on the facts and the judge. That is a question for your attorney, and no buyer can promise an answer.
Timing and taxes
IRS Publication 523 lets you exclude as much as $250,000 of gain on the sale of a main home, or $500,000 if married filing jointly. You generally must have owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months out of the last 5 years.
For the $500,000 figure, only one spouse has to meet the ownership test, but each spouse must meet the residence requirement individually. Both spouses must also meet the look-back requirement, which Publication 523 explains.
Talk to a tax professional before you sign anything. Selling before or after the decree, filing jointly or separately that year, and the date one spouse moved out can each change how much gain you can exclude. Publication 523’s divorce rules help. You can count your spouse’s ownership time for a home received from them, and a spouse living there under a divorce instrument can count as your use.
How we can help
We are a property solutions company based in Henderson, working across the Las Vegas Valley and Boulder City. In a divorce, we buy the house, tell you both a listing will serve you better, or give you the information you came for. We take no referral fee when we point you elsewhere.
When a sale to us fits, we work with both spouses and their attorneys, and we need both signatures on a community-property house. We buy as-is, cover standard closing costs, and close on a date you both agree to. You can ask for a free, no-obligation cash offer. We do not advise either spouse on how to divide the house or its proceeds. That is for your attorneys or a mediator.
For free, court-connected information on the divorce process itself, the Family Law Self-Help Center at the Family Courts and Services Center, 601 N. Pecos, Las Vegas, is run by Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. Our divorce page has a shorter overview.