Getting Exclusive Possession of the Marital Home
Often times in a divorce case one of the first issues to sort out is, "Will the spouses live together while the case is pending?". Since a divorce case can move very slowly through the system - particularly when things are fought out at each step - exclusive possession of the house can be a major milestone in the case. Some attorneys suggest an Order of Protection before the divorce is even filed to try and get the other spouse out. In such instances, they better have some familiarity with the judge's practices for Orders of Protection because what level of abuse is needed to get a spouse booted from the marital home varies from judge to judge and county to county. Also in many counties, the judge who decides the Order of Protection issue is NOT the same judge that hears the divorce. Therefore even if the Order of Order of Protection judge grants exclusive possession, that ...