Q. I told my husband our marriage was over around a year ago but he is still sleeping in our bed. It isn’t too bad when he is working nights but when he is on days I am forced to sleep on the sofa. What can I do to get him out? He says he owns the house as much as me so he won’t leave.
A. It sounds like a terrible situation, which unfortunately is more common than you would think. If you are joint owners of the home there is no quick fix to remove your husband from the property unless his behaviour is having a serious impact on your wellbeing. From what you say, it would appear that your best course of action would be to consider applying to the Court for a divorce and within the divorce proceedings you can ask the Court to grant a financial Order. The Court will need to know the extent of the financial position you and your husband are in before it makes a final decision, and there are various arguments you can raise as to what should happen to the various assets within the marriage.
In particular, the Court will want to know if there are any relevant children of the family whose needs should be taken into consideration. The Court will also look at any pension provision or savings that either of you have and the length of marriage and your present income and earning capacity among other issues.
There are various Orders a Court can make including an order which transfers the home into your name, an order for sale, pension sharing orders and maintenance orders for you OR any relevant children. You should seek the advice of a family lawyer without further delay.
(Article published 25/02/2017)
