Your marriage hasn’t been going well for a few years. You’ve tried everything you can think of, but it’s finally clear to you that you just need to get divorced. You file the correct paperwork and serve the divorce petition, having a long conversation with your spouse about why the marriage is ending and what to expect in the future.
At the same time, you’ve been experiencing a lot of marital conflict, even before deciding to split up. You don’t feel like it would be wise for the two of you to live together now that you have filed for divorce. You ask your spouse to move out of the house.
To your surprise, they refuse. They say that they have as much right to live here as you do and that you can’t make them leave. Are they right?
Are they on the title?
It depends if they officially own the home or if they just live in it with you.
For example, perhaps you bought the house while you were in college, renting out rooms to other college students and paying off your mortgage. You own the house outright, and your spouse just moved in after you got married. You could ask them to leave because they have no ownership rights.
On the other hand, maybe you and your spouse both moved out of apartments and bought a house together after you got married. It’s a shared asset and you are both on the title. Not only does this mean that your house has to go through property division, but it also means you can’t kick your spouse out because they are a legal owner. They are correct in asserting that they have just as much right to live there as you do.
This can be a difficult legal situation to find yourself in, and you may be in for a contentious divorce. Carefully look into all the legal options at your disposal.
