Advice: Use of Primary Residence
I’m active duty military and currently stationed overseas. I’ve already filed for divorce and we’re waiting on the pre-trial phase. We have two children together.
The original plan was for the kids to visit me overseas this summer, but because of the financial strain of separating households, a recent overseas PCS, and my spouse still not working, that’s no longer financially realistic. I’m currently covering the mortgage, supporting the kids financially, and taking on additional debt trying to keep everything afloat while we’re still legally married.
Instead, I want to travel back to Arizona to visit my kids. I asked to stay in the house we purchased together (the home I currently pay for) during that visit. I recently stayed there in the guest bedroom without any issues, and my spouse was fine with it at the time.
Now, however, my spouse says they’re uncomfortable with me staying there, even though they’ll actually be out of town during the visit and it would only be me and the kids in the home.
For additional context, during my previous stay, my spouse repeatedly pressured me to drink and also pressured me to reconcile physically/romantically despite me making it clear I wasn’t comfortable with either.
My legal question is:
If my name is on the home and I’m paying for it, can my spouse legally prevent me from staying there while visiting my children during the divorce process? Especially if there’s no court order granting exclusive use of the home?