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Sherry S · May 5, 2009, 01:02 PM

Husband and I are getting divorced and we lived in a house that was owned by his mother. No lease agreement. I made and paid for major repairs to house. I have been moving my things out of the house because husband and I agreed and filed our marital settlement agreement with the court. It has not been finalized. I went back to the house which is still listed as my residence (my driver's license still has this address and my mail still comes to this house) to find that his MOTHER had locked me out of the house and will not allow me back in in order to get my freezer and food that is in the freezer and several cleaning appliances (vacuum, shampooer) and one closet of clothes that I had not yet been able to remove from house. Husband and I had already agreed to everything and it was going fine. I went to house to find out that she had instructed her son (my husband) to remove an above ground pool that I had purchased and had already taken down and she is basically holding my belongings as ransom. All because I removed a stove from the house that I had bought personally and my husband and I agreed that I would be taking with me when I left the house. In SC, can I force her to allow me back inside this house to get the remainder of my things? I'm worried that she will cut the power off to the house and all of the food that I have in my freezer will be destroyed. Can I take any sort of action against his mother for locking me out of a house that I had not left as my residence yet?

stevetcg · May 5, 2009, 01:07 PM

If you have not been legally evicted by the mother, she is breaking the law. Call the police. She cannot bar you from your home.

If she shuts off the power, you can sue her for anything lost by the power being off.

Have you spoken with the police yet? That would be a fine place to start.

Sherry S · May 5, 2009, 01:17 PM

I have been trying to get them to just simply let me back in the house. My husband states that I need to call his mother because he no longer has a key to the house. When I call him mother and leave her messages, she never answers me or calls me back. She owns the home and I know that I have no legal rights to the home itself. I just want to finish getting my belongings that I actually owned to my even being married to her son.

stevetcg · May 5, 2009, 01:21 PM

You are still a tenant of the house regardless of your ownership status and are entitled to rights of access and utilitys until you are legally evicted.

Your relationship to the owner or your ex is irrelavent. This is a tenant/landlord issue.

Stop dealing with your ex and if the landlord will not return your calls, call the police. Bet she returns THEIR calls.

cdad · May 5, 2009, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by Sherry S

Husband and I are getting divorced and we lived in a house that was owned by his mother. No lease agreement. I made and paid for major repairs to house. I have been moving my things out of the house because husband and I agreed and filed our marital settlement agreement with the court. It has not been finalized. I went back to the house which is still listed as my residence (my driver's license still has this address and my mail still comes to this house) to find that his MOTHER had locked me out of the house and will not allow me back in in order to get my freezer and food that is in the freezer and several cleaning appliances (vacuum, shampooer) and one closet of clothes that I had not yet been able to remove from house. Husband and I had already agreed to everything and it was going fine. I went to house to find out that she had instructed her son (my husband) to remove an above ground pool that I had purchased and had already taken down and she is basically holding my belongings as ransom. All because I removed a stove from the house that I had bought personally and my husband and I agreed that I would be taking with me when I left the house. In SC, can I force her to allow me back inside this house to get the remainder of my things? I'm worried that she will cut the power off to the house and all of the food that I have in my freezer will be destroyed. Can I take any sort of action against his mother for locking me out of a house that I had not left as my residence yet?

OK here is some things that need to get straightened out to get you some answers.

1) Did you separate from your husband and establish residence in another home ?

2) you say you sgreed on the stove and such.. was it in writing ?

3) Are you using a lawyer to proceed with your divorce ?

Also if you were married when you bought those items then then there is a good chance that the items in question are BOTH of yours. The stove and pool etc. The most the police would do without a court order is allow you to get your clothes and children's clothes if your so entitled.

Sherry S · May 6, 2009, 05:07 AM

I have started moving things out of the house but was still staying in that house about 4 times a week due to it being closer to my workplace. We have a marital settlement agreement that specifies that I am allowed to take anything that I purchased personally and he is to sign over a truck that was in his name. We were only married for 2 1/2 years and he committed adultery. He owed me money in the amount of more than $8,000 for various things and this was our agreement just so I could get the marriage over with and have him out of my life. We did NOT use an attorney because of the costs and filed the necessary papers together at the clerk of court's office - all we are waiting on is the final hearing date. The only items remaining in the house are MY personal belongings that I had purchased or in my possession prior to our marriage (freezer, cleaning equipment, clothes).