Your spouse asks you for a divorce and then asks you to leave the house. They tell you that you need to pack your bags and find somewhere to live until the marriage ends.
But maybe you don’t have anywhere else to go. Or maybe you simply don’t want to leave. You know that it’s common for couples to live apart while they’re getting divorced, and the old cliché about someone coming home to find their things on the front step exists for a reason. But is it possible for your spouse to force you out of the house if you actually don’t want to go?
You both have a right to be there if you are both owners
It all depends on ownership of the house. Generally speaking, married couples will apply for mortgage loans together. They will also put both of their names on the paperwork for the house. They are officially co-owners. As such, neither person can tell the other one that they have to leave. They have the exact same right to be in that home, and this cannot even be infringed upon by the other property owner. In other words, your spouse has no legal grounds to tell you to leave, even if they want you to.
However, there are also cases where one person may have purchased the home before the marriage, and then the other person moved in after the couple tied the knot. This can get a bit more complicated because the home may be a separate asset belonging to only one individual. But this is rare, and most people – at least, when they are not renting – do own the home in which they live.
What this does signify is that you are going to face a contentious and complicated divorce. Be sure you know about all of your legal options.