Locks changed legal?

Jurisdiction: 

Area of Law: 

Question: 

Good morning. First of all, my husband and I are neither legally separated or divorced, but living separately, after he decided I should be the one to move out, which I have within the past month. I still have a lot of stuff there, also which he told me I could take my time in getting. He told me to keep my key to the house. I’ve never made an attempt to go to the house when he wasn’t there, strictly out of respect, even though I still have my key. He was out of town on vacation this past weekend, so, I called him and asked if I could go get another load (with a girlfriend of mine to help & witness). It would have been mentally easier for me when he wasn’t there. He told me he had the locks changed. Did he have the right to do that, after telling me to keep my key in good faith, and all of a sudden he decides to change the locks? I asked him why he did it and he said “because I wanted to”. What are my legal rights, still being his wife?

Selected Answer: 

You should contact a divorce

You should contact a divorce attorney in Kentucky immediately. Generally, the court will not allow one spouse to lock out another spouse even during a divorce proceeding. Since you are neither legally separated or divorced, you should have full access to your property at all times. If the house is in both of the spouses’ names, only a legal order can prevent you from entering the property. From the facts that you have included, that does not seem to be your situation. However, to keep the situation as civil as possible, you should contact an attorney and pursue the matter through the courts. If you do not have an attorney to assist you with your divorce, contact the Legal Aid Network of Kentucky for more information about divorce in Kentuckyhttp://www.kyjustice.org/divorceforms.

All Comments

You should contact a divorce

You should contact a divorce attorney in Kentucky immediately. Generally, the court will not allow one spouse to lock out another spouse even during a divorce proceeding. Since you are neither legally separated or divorced, you should have full access to your property at all times. If the house is in both of the spouses’ names, only a legal order can prevent you from entering the property. From the facts that you have included, that does not seem to be your situation. However, to keep the situation as civil as possible, you should contact an attorney and pursue the matter through the courts. If you do not have an attorney to assist you with your divorce, contact the Legal Aid Network of Kentucky for more information about divorce in Kentuckyhttp://www.kyjustice.org/divorceforms.