Housing issues / eviction

In general, there may be a couple of options to try to move an abusive spouse from the home. First, one possibility may be through an order of protection, in which (if the petitioner qualifies), s/he may be able to ask that the abuser be removed from the home and that s/he stay away from the petitioner as well as other protections. Depending on the facts of your case, the judge will make a decision as to whether or not this should happen. Here is the link that explains restraining orders in more detail: [LINK]

If a person cannot get a restraining order, often who can remain in the home may be something dealt with in a divorce. The divorce court judge would likely be the one to decide who has to leave the home as part of the divorce and who gets rights to the home. Sometimes, the decision about who can occupy the home can be done by the judge before the divorce is final – the judge may order who gets “exclusive use” of the home as part of a temporary order. I am not sure if this is something that is commonly done in your state or not or how quickly a judge might decide this after a divorce is filed so for someone in immediate danger, this may not be an immediate option. You may want to talk to a divorce lawyer in your state to figure out what your options are. Here is a link for lawyers in STATE: LINK and here is a link with divorce information for STATE in case you are interested.