You certainly do not have to move out of the house when you’re getting a divorce, and neither does your spouse. Every couple has a unique situation and has to decide if it would be best for one person to move out or not.
That said, it is very common for one spouse to move out after the divorce petition has been filed. The two people are still technically legally married, but the romantic relationship is already over, so they get their own place to live until the divorce is finalized. The date on which you separate may become very important.
Dividing your assets
The date of separation is so critical because you have to divide your marital assets during a divorce. Marital assets are generally those that are acquired while you’re married.
However, it can take you a few months for the divorce process to go through. This means that you may acquire substantial assets while you are living separately. Knowing the date on which you separated can help you show which assets belong exclusively to you and which ones belong exclusively to your spouse.
If you had to buy a car after moving out so that you could keep going to work, for instance, you clearly don’t consider this a marital asset and you don’t want your ex to have a claim to the value of that car.
What are your options?
You know how critical it is to divide assets properly, and that means you need to know about all of your legal options at this time. This is especially true if it gets complicated or you and your spouse disagree on which assets you both own.