can you get a divorce while sharing a house?

[feelingfedup]

partner refuses to move out, just to be difficult.

i don't have the money to rent somewhere large enough for me and 3 kids.

we have seperate rooms and live seperate lives.

can i start divorce proceedings?

I dont see why not. Although , will be oppose it? Might be harder to prove that you reallt are seperated if you have the same address and he wont agree to the divorce? But I know very little! When I got divorced, I didnt even use a solicitor, I got exh's one to do my side of the paperwork too

I think so two of my friends who I grew up with both had divorced parents who still lived in the same house. One even shared a bedroom but had twin beds instead of a double!

I think so- but check with a solicitor first- many give the 1st consultation free.

You have to prove you are living completely separately- that means you don't do his washing or ironing, cook his meals, share meals or do anything for him.

My husband bought his 1st house ( before we were married) from a divorcing couple who were living like that in the house he bought.

Yes you can start divorce procedings regardless of whether they are living in the house or not.

My ex husband refused to move out until our house sold, but my solicitor was prepared to start the divorce whenever I was ready.

Have you seen a solicitor yet?

You can. I'm doing it. You can't on grounds of separation unless you're living separate lives under the same roof, as hls describes, and which takes two years. However you can divorce on grounds of unreasonable behaviour, which is much quicker and which is remarkably easy to prove. I issued the petition back in January and things should with any luck be all tied up by the end of the year. Neither of us can afford to move out until the house is sold and the STBXH doesn't want to, but the court have ordered it.

Initial advice I had said that two-year separation was the quickest way, but that turned out to be incorrect. Shop about a bit. If the marriage has irretrievably broken down and he still won't move out, that's pretty unreasonable, surely!

great - any suggestions on how to find a good solicitor and what i should expect to pay. i won't get legal aid on my salary.

i will go for divorce on grounds of unreasonable behaviour.

I went to the CAB & got a list of family lawyers. They didn't reccomend any, but some offer you a very cheap (sometimes free) 30 minute appointment, and the CAB will be able to tell you if any of your local solicitors offer this.
I went to two different ones, as I wasn't very impressed with the first one I saw.
If you get a free or very cheap (Think my first session was £30) session, then you haven't lost too much if you decide to try out another.

I checked Yellow Pages for solicitors in my area, rang a selection who specialised in family law and picked a cheapish one who seemed (and indeed proved to be) pleasant to deal with. There are loads to choose from, you can afford to look around and pick one you feel comfortable working with.