The answer is “no” you cannot change the lock or otherwise throw your spouse out of the marital home. Generally speaking, to exclude or evict a spouse during a divorce requires an Order from a court, either from the Maryland divorce court, from a Maryland District Court pursuant to an eviction complaint, or from a court pursuant to a police complaint for assault, battery, domestic violence or some other crime. If you have questions about a Maryland divorce and about options for getting your spouse out of the marital home, call us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. We are family law attorneys and divorce attorneys in Waldorf, Maryland. Here is a quick rundown of your options if you need your spouse out of the house.

Typically, a Maryland divorce court will not order a spouse out of the marital home unless there is provable evidence of physical or emotional abuse or some other danger. For this reason, the experienced and skilled Maryland divorce and family law attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro advise against any abusive behavior designed to “drive” your spouse out of the house. If you try that tactic, your spouse could “turn the tables” and use YOUR abusive behavior in the divorce proceedings to get you removed from the house or gain other advantages.

With respect to an eviction complaint — called a forcible or wrongful detainer lawsuit — that type of lawsuit is not filed with the Maryland divorce court. That is a separate lawsuit filed in the county District Court. However, a wrongful detainer case can only be filed if one spouse is the only spouse of the title deed to the property. If both spouses are on the deed, then a wrongful detainer lawsuit will not succeed and will be dismissed. A wrongful detainer lawsuit is expensive to file and prosecute and will not be resolved quickly — a couple of months at a minimum.

If the other spouse has committed a crime — like some form of domestic violence — then the victim should file a police complaint and request a protective order along with a safety-based eviction of the physically abusive spouse. Again, these particular actions are taken with the police and with the county District Court, not with the divorce court.

The best option is a negotiated compromise. Three common options are:

• One spouse willingly agrees to vacate in exchange for something they want
• The spouses agree to alternating use/possession of the marital home — like alternating weeks
• The spouses agree to separate and exclusive spaces within the marital home (which may include some shared spaces like the kitchen or bathroom)

These may not be ideal solutions or even practical. But, the point is that if the spouses cannot live under the same roof while the divorce proceeds, some form of compromise is likely the best option.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.