Is it worth pausing a sale process if my personal circumstances change midway?

It can be, and pausing is usually more available to you than owners expect, especially before a definitive purchase agreement is signed. Most sale processes move through stages — early discussions, a letter of intent, due diligence, then a binding agreement — and how much a pause costs you depends on which stage you're in. Early on, pausing is generally low-cost. Once you're deep into due diligence with a buyer who has spent real time and money, pausing can damage that relationship or your credibility with other buyers later, even if nothing binding has been signed.

The nuance is that a letter of intent is typically non-binding on price and most terms, but specific provisions within it — confidentiality and exclusivity in particular — usually aren't, so pausing doesn't necessarily free you from every obligation you've already agreed to.

Before pausing, it's worth having a business lawyer review exactly what you've signed so far, so you know which commitments genuinely bind you and which don't, and communicating the pause to the buyer directly and honestly, rather than letting the process quietly stall, tends to preserve the relationship better if you want to resume later.