My spouse and I agreed to separate almost two months ago. We have only been married 3 years. There are no children and we have a pre-nup that he insisted on that keeps all assets and liabilities before and during marriage separated. The house has always been in my name. I owned it before we were married and my spouse even signed a quit claim deed. He agreed to take his things and leave and since he wants to move out of state to where his family is, I agreed to give him one of the cars which are also in my name (although he also has a van of his own) and some cash for his expenses since he would have to look for a place to live. The problem is, my spouse is dragging his feet about leaving. There is a new excuse every week. The money is separate and since our decison to separate he does not pay rent or utilities or anything and I’m getting tired of supporting him. Is there a way I can force him to leave? Someone suggested an order of trespass.
No, even though the home is your separate property, it has been used as the martial residence, so you may not force him to leave absent any martial misconduct.
If he has engaged in martial misconduct you may file an action for divorce from bed and board, seeking an order from the court forcing him out of the home.
So, let me get this clear. Unless he comitts marital misconduct of some kind, he can stay, live in my home while I pay for everything including utilities, food, and insurance while he takes his money and uses it to fill my yard with car parts (it looks like a junk yard) and turn the inside of my home into a rats nest with his junk. Is that what you’re telling me? What if I call a lock smith when he’s gone and have the locks changed? What happens then? Will I be arrested for committing some crime? How long must I endure this?
That is correct, you cannot force him out of the martial residence absent fault as outlined in the statutes. You cannot change the locks unless and until he leaves the home with the intention of living elsewhere.
You may leave the home and file an action for equitable distribution and include a motion for interim distribution in which you seek an order granted you possession of the home.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the Rosen firm’s attempt to give free legal advise this state. As a result of your response, I will make sure that I tell everyone I know NOT to get married in the state of NC and if they do so and then choose to divorce, take up residency in another state that uses common sense as its practice rather than the goal of lining the pockets of the state and legal representives. I will not leave my home and I will not pay thousands of dollars to an attorney just because the laws in this state are designed to protect deadbeats. It was mine before we met and married. I have a prenup and a quit claim deed insuring that the house is mine. If this continues I will do what I can on my own to get him removed legally but I will not leave my home. My husband is the culprit in this case. We agreed to separate and he is staying simply because he can force me (because of NC law) to support him. I am the injured party and have no recourse under the law as long as I am a law abiding citizen. Now I understand why so many people no longer bother to get legally married and why so many others committ marital misconduct just to get out of situations such as this where the law does not protect them from users like my husband. I now believe that the marriage certificate in NC is just a way for the state of NC to regulate and tax individuals. This system does not protect the injured.
Anyone who reads this please remember that you do not need a certificate issued by a state to be married in the eyes of God. I will never be legally married again due to the experience with the laws of the state of NC. You may also wish to check out the laws in other states.