Protecting Your Personal Safety While Planning Your Exit From Your Marital Home

20 January 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog


If you are making plans to escape from a bad marriage and file for a divorce, then there are several things that you can do to protect your personal safety during this potentially dangerous time in your life.

The following are some of the personal protection steps that you can take:

Make Plans And Conduct Research Away From Your Marital Home

If your spouse has access to your electronic devices, it could be dangerous for you to research and plan your relocation while at home. Instead, try to find a location away from your home where you can use some other means to research. You can use the internet at your local library or an internet cafe, if necessary, for privacy.

If changing your passwords will cause suspicion, then for your own safety, don't do so until just prior to your final exit.

Carefully Remove Important Documents From Your Home

You may not realize it, but there are many important documents that are necessary for you to accomplish everyday tasks, such as renting an apartment, getting a new job, or opening a new bank account in your own name. 

Don't take the risk of obviously gathering a large pile of documents prior to your exist. Instead, you should consider taking a few at a time by bringing them to your bank's safety deposit box, to your workplace, or to a relative's home.

The documents that you should remove from your home include the following:

  • birth, marriage, and death records

  • your Social Security card and statement

  • copies of all of your bank accounts, investments, and debts

  • copies of all of your filed tax forms

  • the titles to any vehicles you solely own

In addition, if you have children, then you should remove the documents that will be necessary to enroll them in a new school, such as their birth certificates and immunization records.

What To Do If Your Plan Is Discovered

If your spouse discovers that you are preparing to leave and the situation becomes heated, you should try and remove yourself from the situation if it is at all possible for you to do so. If your spouse threatens you or becomes abusive in a verbal, physical, or sexual way, then you should call law enforcement and allow them to help you safely pack your belongings and leave your home.

Finally, once you have safely moved out of your home, you should work closely with your divorce attorney on a strategy to complete your divorce proceedings while also protecting your personal safety. Attorneys like those at Garrett & Silvey Law Firm may be able to assist you in this area.


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