Posted on 08/03/2008 10:11:37 AM PDT by Virginia Queen
Scenario: Couple married 6 months. Upon marriage, husband rented out his home to move into wife's home so that her child would not be disrupted re school, friends, etc. Now wife wants him to leave because they are not getting along. He feels he should be able to stay untilthe lease on his home expires so he can move back into his own home. Can the wife "Evict" him? There has been no physical violence, just fighting over finances and differences in running a household.
He should get a lawyer.
Once they became married, their spousal home became their common domicile. He is not a tenant “with benefits”. If he moves out, he is probably screwed, not in the way he hoped
When they divide the property the divorce court will decide his rights in her house, and her rights in his house.
I'd say right off hand that he leased his own "premariatal" asset and he, alone is responsible for that piece of business. That is, it has no bearing on what's going on in the marriage or its breakup.
The lucky bride has the same rights. The place he's living in is hers.
He's not a "by rights" or "by fee" tenant ~ just an "at will tenant".
She should call the sheriff and move him out to the sidewalk ~ (after a brief stop in court to get an eviction notice). She doesn't even need to file for divorce to control her premarital property. He has little recourse unless he's unemployed, handicapped, pregnant and nursing an existing child.
Virginia is the place folks in Maryland move to before they get divorced so this question was all the time getting raised at work. Working in a building with over 160 lawyers with little to do but kvetch over legal minutiae, even the lay people (the rest of us) get apprised of how this works.
There's been some modification of Virginia divorce law so that any children of the marriage are cared for first (and that child support get paid to a former spouse stuck in the People's Republic of Maryland). Otherwise, this is the place to go (for a divorce) on the East Coast.
Read post 3. Virginia treats pre-marital property differently,
The law on property is only a guide line, since a judge can really do as he/her pleases in divorce court. It all depends on who has the biggest gun for a lawyer. In Kentucky, the law may state one thing about marital and pre-marital property, but it’s a roll of the dice if you can’t settle out of court and you end up in front of one of the family court judges here. I have seen pre-marital property that had been inherited or gifted years prior to a marriage awarded to the other spouse “just to make it eqitable”. It depends on the judge and how they felt that morning when they got up.
Anyone who would try to stay where they’re not wanted is, well, not a person I’d want to associate with. It’s just common decency.
Another thing to think about: If wifee gets too upset at hubby, she could file charges about abuse. You say there’s a kid in the house?
If it were me, I’d get the hell out of there.
She’s just going to call the cops and say he hit her. He’ll never own a gun again.
True enough. On the other hand Virginia has a lot of laws that limit judicial discretion in a manner not found just everywhere.
He’s technically a tenant, and tenant law would apply.
I don’t agree that he is “just a tenant.” The analysis given may apply upon, during, and after divorce. That is, premarital property may give each spouse the right to RECOVER the exclusive ownership of their property after separation.
Bear in mind here that neither spouse has even filed for divorce (although she may be wanting to set up the start of a one-year “separation” period).
The marriage is only 6 months old.
The law encourages attempts to reconcile a marriage, which is the reason for the 1 year time period before a divorce may be entered.
So, the number of Sheriff’s deputies in Virginia who are going to evict a husband from his wife’s home WITHOUT a court order is exactly ZERO.
As an attorney, I have seen people trying to get grand-daughters, children, etc. out of their house — and this was in Fairfax, by the way. The Sheriff would NOT take any action, without first being ordered by the Court.
And the Court refused to enter an eviction order because there was no lease for the Judge to apply.
SO, while each spouse may retain the right to get the property BACK from the marriage free and clear, after divorce, I think that DURING te marriage the husband has an IMPLIED RIGHT to share a home with their spouse. I think that the husband has implied CONSENT to live with his spouse by virtue of marriage to her.
I would, however, beware of false accusations: (1) If you have a computer in the house, get it out of there. Rent a storage unit. Take it to work. Don’t risk having child porn miracuously appearing on it.
(2) I would go to Staples or Office Depot and get a digital AUDIO recorder. They now have them with 12+ hours of recording time. Buy several. Find a place, such as in your briefcase or coat pocket, to have a recording running. If she accuses you of beating her up, you pull out the recording and prove she is a liar. (NOTE: Video is problematic, because that could be invasion of privacy. ALSO beware of leaving it recording away from you when you are not in the room. You must be part of the conversation to legally record YOURSELF in that situation). Note that you have to figure out how to regularly download the digital recording to your computer to clear it out for re-use.
(3) I would certainly attempt to reason with her, and not make her feel like you are starting a war.
TELL HER that although you would like to save the marriage, and be reconciled, you will honor her wishes... EXCEPT that you have nowhere to go until the lease on your house is expired.
So, make sure she knows that you are not picking a fight with her just to be unreasonable, but there is a solid reason why you can’t move out... just yet.
NOTE: You should go to www.LawGuru.com for these questions in the future, instead of using Free Republic like this.
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