Who leaves the house during the divorce?
Many times, no one.
I think people would be surprised at the number of people going through a contentious divorce end up still residing with their spouse throughout the entire proceeding.
Shouldn’t someone have to leave?
Why? Who says who had more right to the home that they jointly own or rent. Well, a judge can decide that but many times the courts do not force a person out of a jointly owned home until the end of the divorce, Except if there has been violence in the home.
This article doesn’t deal with injunctions and restraining orders, just the normal situation and question of “who stays and who goes?”
If there are children both of the married parents have equal rights to the children until the court decides otherwise. Therefore that is another reason for parties to continue living separately but under the same roof, with their children. If there are no children and someone has somewhere else to go, then these are the situations where we will many times see an agreement between the parties as to who stays and who goes; but when there are children, the choice is much more difficult.
There are sometimes options for temporary relief during the pendency of the case that the Judge can award exclusive use and possession of the home to one party until the case is over, but there needs to be a reason to tell the other party to “get out” of their own home.
Money is also a big factor. Not everyone can afford to go from one household to two households in a short period of time and pay for a divorce, so many times people wait until the case is resolved and there is more clarity about what will be the “new normal.”
Again, if there is violence and your life is in danger, seek help, but that is not the focus of this article, this is for the vast majority of normal situations where people just have to find a way to co-exist until the case is resolved.
