Your spouse surprises you by filing for a divorce. You knew that the marriage wasn’t doing well, but you thought that the two of you would be able to make it work. You feel blindsided by the entire process.
To make matters worse, your spouse tells you that they want you to leave the home. They know that the relationship is going to be rather contentious, and they want you to find somewhere else to live. They may even say this as if you don’t have any choice – they are kicking you out of the house as they move forward with the divorce. Can they do this?
Who owns the house?
The big question to ask is simply who legally owns that home. No one can kick someone out of a house that they already own themselves.
So, are you on the title for the house? Maybe you and your spouse bought that home together. You’re both on all of the paperwork and on the mortgage. If so, your spouse can certainly ask you to leave, but there’s no way for them to legally kick you out. You are allowed to live in that house because you purchased it.
Where things get really complicated, though, is when only one person is technically the owner. Maybe your spouse bought the house a year before you got married. You’ve always thought of it as a “family home” and the two of you have lived there the entire time. But if they are technically the only owner of that house, then you may not have the legal ability to stay against their wishes.
Either way, it’s clear that the divorce process is going to get complex. Take the time to look into all of your legal options.