Should you leave the family home during divorce?

Obviously, divorce is one of the most difficult undertakings you can ever go through – and living with your spouse during the process can be incredibly uncomfortable.

But, should you leave your marital home during the divorce process? Well, the answer to this question may not be so straightforward.

Here are two key questions you might want to ask yourself before deciding whether to leave the marital home before the divorce is final:

“Can I afford it?”

Moving out of the marital home before finalizing your divorce can have an impact on your finances. While awaiting the outcome of the divorce, you will be expected to continue making your financial contributions to the household. 

Thus, if you were responsible for paying a certain percentage of the mortgage and other bills, then you will be required to continue making such payments during the divorce process. Consequently, if you rent a place or acquire additional property, you will end up supporting two households on your income. This can put a strain on your finances. 

“Will this affect my child custody case?”

There is no doubt that divorce can have a significant emotional impact on children. For this reason, it is important that you do not move out of the family home before making arrangements on how each parent will spend time with the children. 

You can make these arrangements directly with your soon-to-be-ex or with the help of a mediator. Failing to have prior arrangements before moving out can greatly complicate your custody case as the court may not want to upset the status quo – and that could give primary custody to the parent who lived with the children while the divorce was underway. 

Divorce is never easy for anyone. If you have decided to dissolve your marriage, one of the questions you need to give serious thought to is whether you should move out of the family home before finalizing the divorce or not.