Dear Jennifer,

The Executor is absolutely correct. To keep this simple, the divorce decree is a mixed bag of part court order and part contract. Violating a court order can lead to contempt of court which can cause an individual to incur fines and/or jail time. Contracts are considered binding and legal and trump anything written in a will. So the ex-wife does get her half of the proceeds but no say in the selling price and does not need to sign off on papers UNLESS the divorce decree says so. Make sure the divorce decree is reviewed. It's a public document unless sealed so you can pay a fee and get a copy yourself. Hope this helps.