My husband and I have been separated since the end of March. We have a 3 year old and an 18 month old. He visits them at my home every Tuesday and Thursday night when he gets off of work, and takes them overnight every Saturday at his apartment. He has been dating a woman who lives across the country for several months now. Today he informed me that sometime in the near future (before Christmas) she is going to be moving here with her toddler and they are will be moving in together. I told him that was fine and I had already considered the possibility of this happening, but expressed concern about the impact of this living situation on our children. The more I think about the situation the less comfortable with it I am. We do not have any separation agreements. Is there anyway that I can legally keep him from cohabiting with his girlfriend before the divorce is finalized, or subsequently prohibit him from taking the children to his home if he does move in with her before the divorce? I have no desire to try to limit what he does in relationships after the divorce, but I am not comfortable with the children staying at his home while he is cohabiting with his girlfriend and her son while we are still legally married.
If you have a child custody order and you choose to withhold visitation, you can be held in contempt. If you don’t have an order, you can withhold visitation if she moves in before the divorce, but he will likely immediately file suit. You could also file suit now which would also bring the issue in front of the court. At that point, it will be up to the judge to decide whether your concerns are valid and whether he should have overnight visits while he is cohabitating. If you end up in court, the judge may also look down at you withholding overnight visits.
Your best option is to discuss your concerns with him and encourage him to not move in with his girlfriend until after the divorce is final.