Why does one person want to sell? Is it financial? Is there a really good reason? Is it vital or essential?
I think it would be very unlikely that a Court would allow one spouse to sell an elderly persons home by dispensing with the non owning spouses consent unless there was a supremely pressing reason. And if one goes for Separation, again, it is very likely, unless there was a supremely pressing reason, that a Court would not permit the sale of the family home.
So, no, its not enough to say that by forcing a spouse to separate that you can circumvent the Family Home Protection Act of 1976. I suspect that there is an element of urban myth about all of this - as in, once separated, parties waive their Family Law rights. They might do that in a settlement situation but it is by no means a for gone conclusion in a hard fought Judicial Separation application.
mf