As a general rule, if you and your spouse own a home together, they cannot throw you out of the house during a divorce. They cannot force you to find another place to live.
This is something that you often see in movies and television shows, where one partner returns home to find all of their belongings on the lawn and their spouse tells them they have to move out immediately. It is understandable that spouses may want to live separately during a divorce, as continuing to live together can be stressful.
But from a legal perspective, if both people have a right to be on the property, neither one can force the other to leave. One spouse could certainly choose to leave of their own volition, if they thought it would make the divorce easier, but they cannot simply kick their partner out.
Getting a court order
There are some exceptions to this rule. In certain situations, one spouse may be able to get a court order mandating that the other has to leave the home.
But this is often only done if there is significant evidence of physical or emotional harm. For instance, if one person can demonstrate that there was domestic violence in the relationship, they may be able to get a protection order requiring their spouse to find somewhere else to live.
But these cases are relatively rare. In the average divorce case, both spouses have a right to remain in the house.
Navigating the divorce process
This does help demonstrate one of the complexities you may face when getting a divorce. When you run into disputes, be sure you know what legal options you have.