I know, I hear you. You’re done, you don’t want to see your spouse’s face again. You don’t want him or her in your space, in your house.
You’re going to pack up your soon to be ex’s crap and change the locks. You’re perfectly within your rights to kick him or her out of the matrimonial home.
Uh, no, sorry, the law doesn’t agree with you.
According to the Family Law Act, both spouses have an equal right of possession to the matrimonial home. It doesn’t matter whose name is on the property title. It might not even matter who pays the mortgage, or the fact that your spouse can easily afford to purchase a condo and move out.
However, there is something called an Order for Exclusive Possession, meaning only one of you gets to stay in the house, but judges don’t hand them out like candy.
Case in point, Hollinger v. Wang 2019 ONSC. The wife, the owner of the matrimonial home, asked for exclusive possession stating that she ran a business from home and her husband’s violent and aggressive behaviour made that difficult.
With no evidence to support the wife’s claim of violent behaviour on her husband’s part, and no children involved, the judge dismissed the wife’s motion. Exclusive possession denied.
Obtaining an Exclusive Possession order is difficult, but it’s not impossible, and in many cases, is extremely important. If you think you have grounds for Exclusive Possession, contact a family law lawyer right away.