My wife and I live in an apartment in chicago,ill but we are getting a divorce. If my name is the only one on the lease,can I force her to leave the apartment legally?

Please check your local State Laws. If you lived in Canada, absolutely not. Marriage is joint everything. Please check with your local (we have free) Law Offices.

You would have to legally evict her. This requires specific notice and documents to be served. As a married couple, more might be required even than that because you have established a household together. The courts would be unlikely to just let you throw her on the street if you are her primary support financially.

Have your divorce attorney handle it, or just ask her to move out and see if she will willingly comply. Be prepared - you may have to foot half or more of the bill for her to do so because you, together, made the current arrangements.

If you're not divorced yet then no. Even though her name isn't on the lease, she's still entitled to everything you have while you're married and that includes where you live.

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Originally Posted by frwilson71

my wife and i live in an apartment in chicago,ill but we are getting a divorce. if my name is the only one on the lease,can i force her to leave the apartment legally?

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You will have to get a court eviction in order for you to make her leave. I know this from first hand experience.

Actually you should not need an eviction order to do this. When you file for separation there will need to be an agreement of who keeps the apartment. If after the separation agreement is filed that gives the apt to you, she refuses to move, then you can have the court issue an order enforcing the separation.