Short answer. Where spouses are separated in fact or one has abandoned the other, and a transaction needs consent that is withheld or cannot be obtained, the law lets the other spouse file a verified petition asking the court to authorize it. The proposed deed, or a detailed description of the transaction, must be attached.
What the law says
a verified petition may be filed in court alleging the foregoing facts. The petition shall attach the proposed deed, if any, embodying the transaction, and, if none, shall describe in detail the said transaction and state the reason why the required consent thereto cannot be secured.
Family Code, Article 239 — Petition Where a Spouse's Consent Is Withheld. Read the full provision →
When this petition is available at all
Article 239 does not open this remedy to every couple who disagrees about a transaction. It applies specifically "when a husband and wife are separated in fact, or one has abandoned the other," and one of them seeks judicial authorization for a transaction where the other spouse's legally required consent "is withheld or cannot be obtained." Both conditions matter: the marital estrangement described by the article, and a transaction that genuinely needs the other spouse's consent under the law in the first place.
What the petition itself must state
The remedy is a verified petition — meaning it must be sworn to — filed in court, "alleging the foregoing facts," which means it must set out the separation or abandonment and the fact that the required consent is withheld or unobtainable. It is not enough to simply ask the court for permission in general terms; the petition has to allege the specific circumstances the article makes a condition for this remedy to apply at all.
What has to be attached to the petition
The article is specific about the supporting documentation: the petition "shall attach the proposed deed, if any, embodying the transaction, and, if none, shall describe in detail the said transaction and state the reason why the required consent thereto cannot be secured." If a deed already exists, it goes with the petition. If there is no deed yet, the petition must instead describe the transaction in detail and explain, specifically, why the other spouse's consent could not be obtained.
The court still has to approve the final deed
Getting judicial authorization to proceed is not the end of the court's role. The article closes by requiring that "in any case, the final deed duly executed by the parties shall be submitted to and approved by the court." So the authorization and the final approval are two separate steps — the transaction is not complete, from the standpoint of this article, until the court has reviewed and approved the deed as actually executed, not merely as originally proposed.