CAN MY HUSBAND KICK ME OUT AFTER OUR DIVORCE?

I frequently receive questions from people regarding their family law issues. The following is a question which the inquirer agreed may be publicly revealed, and my answer to the question:

QUESTION: My ex-husband and I are listed together on our home mortgage. I recently divorced him, but we still live in the same home together, but in separate rooms. I have remarried someone else, but I am still living there in the same home with my ex-husband until my new husband and I can get our own place. Can my ex-husband legally prevent me from living in the house and having my new husband come over or stay there with me in my room, since my name is on the mortgage also? Can he legally kick me out of the house? If I can stay in the house is there anything that I can do to ensure that my ex-husband from acting like I am still his wife and ignoring the fact that I am remarried? What should I do if I need to live there for now?

ANSWER: You didn't indicate in your question who now owns the home.

The Divorce Judgment should have addressed that issue.

If the Judgment awarded the house to your ex-husband as his sole and separate property, he could provide written notice to quit to you and your new husband, and proceed with an Unlawful Detainer action after the notice period expires.

The fact that you are an obligor on the home mortgage is immaterial.

If the Judgment awarded the house to you and your ex-husband as tenants in common (i.e., as a partnership), your ownership interest in the house would be a defense to an Unlawful Detainer action.

If the Judgment didn't award the house to anybody, and you are still an owner of the house, that would be a defense to an Unlawful Detainer action.

Assuming that the house was awarded to your ex-husband in the Divorce Judgment, he would have to go through the proper legal proceedings [Unlawful Detainer] to have you and your new husband excluded from his house. Were he to lock you out, you could sue him for Forceable Detainer.

I know of nothing you can do to ensure that your ex-husband acts like you are still his wife, or to ensure that he recognizes that you have remarried, if you stay in the house, other than to put locks on the doors to the room or rooms that you occupy, or to seek domestic violence restraining orders against him - but those things would likely induce him to institute Unlawful Detainer proceedings against you and your new husband.

If your husband was awarded the house in the Divorce Judgment, you would best move out if you want to enjoy your new marriage in private.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Divorce and Family Law Attorney serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. www.conviser.net, www.conviserfamilylaw.com.