Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Keeping ex-husband out of my house

Obviously you have a right to privacy in your home and your former husband has no legal right to enter your home uninvited. As with most of our legal rights and protections, they are enforced only if we take the steps necessary to enforce them. You can change the locks on your doors. You can send your ex-husband a letter informing him that if he enters your home uninvited he will be risking prosecution for trespass. Neither of these actions should provoke a scene in front of your children. You should be able to discuss the situation with him out of the presence of the children. You don't say how old the children are, but at some point they might wish to invite their father into the house for some special purpose (to show him the Christmas tree or their new dog or cat or computer, for instance) and they might reasonably feel that it is their home, too, and they have a right to invite him in. You might want to establish house rules about how and when your children can invite people, including their father, into the house. You do not need to let him come in, ever, uninvited, but you need to assert your right to privacy to enjoy it. If he wanders in after receiving written notice, call the police, but not in front of your children.

Re: Keeping ex-husband out of my house

Possibly you may file for a restraining order however this may have negative ramifications since it may tend to alienate him from his children.

Alternatively, charging him with criminal trespass is an option which you indicated you do not want to pursue.