Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Can I be forced to leave?

Will you or will you not be separating? Separation and divorce have

certain negative effects that are unavoidable. Increased costs and a decay of what was the mutual standard of living are

typical. You should, as you are doing, seek to protect your legal rights.

How are the respective houses titled? This has much to do with your circumstance. What is the arrangement over the pastor's house (e.g., is it a benefit of his employment)?

Be advised that he may be able to force you to leave and if you were to let things get to that point you will likely have given away much of the leverage you have over getting a decent separation agreement.

You do not have to have a separation agreement but it appears that one may be beneficial in your situation. Please research some of my other responses for information about separation and separation agreements.

Re: Can I be forced to leave?

You will not be giving up any legal right by leaving the home which is provided by the church to your husband. Neither you nor he has any ownership interest in that house. And yes, he most likely can compel you to move out, or at least the church could, since the church owns the property and provides it as a condition of your husband's employment. In this case possession is not "nine tenths of the law," since you have no right, independent of your relation to your husband, to live there. There are most likely a number of other issues related to property which will come up, and you should consult with an attorney to protect your rights. As for the divorce, if you separate unwillingly that is not a ground for divorce until you have been separated for two years (one year if the separation is mutually voluntary). Unless your husband has some other ground for divorce he will have to wait two years or until you and he have reached a real agreement about all the issues, including property issues.