Who Should Move Out of the Family Residence?

1
Who Should Move Out of the Family Residence?
A Guide for Divorcing Couples
2
Both Parties Have a Right to Remain
3

• If you and your spouse purchased a family home
  together and/or if both of your names are on the
  deed to the home, then you both have a legal
  right to the home and you have a legal right to
  remain in the house while a divorce is pending
  and until an agreement is reached as to who
  should get the house in the divorce

4
Moving Out Does Not Jeopardize Your Claim on the
Home
5

• While both spouses have a right to stay in the
  home during divorce proceedings, in most cases,
  you may not wish to continue living together upon
  filing for separation and while your divorce is
  pending

6
One of the two spouses can move out of the
shared family residence without jeopardizing his
or her legal claim on the home
7
Can You Agree on Who Will Leave the Home?
8
The best case scenario for all parties involved
is for one of the two spouses to voluntarily
agree to leave the house
9
If you agree to leave, you do not have to worry
that you are giving up the right to fight for the
home
10
You should, however, speak to an attorney before
deciding whether to leave the house or not in
order to ensure that you are protecting your
legal interests
11
Considerations for Who Should Move Out
12

• If you are deciding together who
• should move out of the family home, there are a
  number of important considerations to think about

13
If one spouse is the primary caregiver to
children, that spouse and children should usually
remain in the home to maintain stability for the
kids
14
If only one of the two spouses can afford to keep
the home after the divorce, it may make sense for
that spouse to stay since he or she is most
likely to be the one to continue living in the
home unless it is sold
15
Protect Yourself from Abuse
16

• In any situation when deciding who should
  continue to live in the home, the first and most
  important thing to do is to protect yourself from
  an abusive situation

17
If you do not feel safe in the home, you should
do whatever it takes to make sure you are not in
a dangerous environment
18
This may mean leaving the home to go to a shelter
or other safe location, or it may mean getting a
protective order to force your spouse to leave
the home
19
Protect Your Children From Abuse and Conflict
20
Protecting your children from abuse is also
vitally important in a divorce situation
21
If your spouse is being abusive to the children,
you should remove your children from that
situation right away to avoid risk of injury
22
You can typically get a restraining order and a
court order forcing your spouse to leave to
prevent your spouse from remaining in the home
and continuing to abuse your children
23
A lawyer should be consulted right away in these
situations
24
File a Request for Order
25
If you wish to force your spouse to leave the
family home prior to a final decision on who gets
to keep the house in divorce, you will need to
file a request for order with the court
26
Youll need to convince the court that it is
reasonable, just and fair to require your spouse
to leave the home pending a final decision on
who gets this asset in the divorce
27
An Attorney Can Help
28
Your attorney can explain your legal rights
regarding your family home and help you to make
an informed choice about whether you should stay
or leave
29
Your attorney can also represent your position in
court, whether you are fighting to have your
spouse removed from the home or responding to a
petition that your spouse has made to the court
to get you to leave
30
We invite you to contact us at [phone] to
schedule a consultation
Content provided by Best Legal Practices
Click to visit www.FamilyLawGroup.com