Rhode Island Divorce Tips

Privacy

My Husband Moved Out So Aren't I Entitled to My Privacy from going through my Things?

July 04, 2013

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Atty Chris Pearsall

Authored By: Christopher Pearsall, RI Divorce Attorney
a.k.a. " The Rhode Island Divorce Coach ℠ "

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Question:

I am separated from my husband. He moved out. He now comes and goes freely through our home, searching through drawers, taking things he wants or needs. He walked in the bathroom while I was in the shower the other day. His reasoning - he pays for the house - he can come and go as he pleases. I can't afford a lawyer. What rights do I have? I am entitled to some privacy aren't I? I live in RI.

Reply:

You have two questions here.

Answering the question "What rights do I have?" would require a lot more information and hours of typing. This is because your rights in this type of situation are like a long trail of dominos with many branches and sub-branches. Therefore, I will answer your second question.

"I am entitled to some privacy, aren't I?" I agree that it isn't appropriate for your husband to be going through your drawers, etc.... if he has moved out of the house.

If his name is on the deed to the home and you do not have any court order requiring him to stay out of the marital home, then technically you are not "entitled" to privacy at the house since he is an owner. That is to say, you do not technically have a right to privacy in the house. Even if you were to lock him out, a person cannot be charged with anything if they break into their own house. Without an existing divorce or separation proceeding in motion with orders that may prohibit him from entering the home if he has a place of his own to live, he can come and go as he pleases and go through drawers of what might be considered marital dressers with marital possessions in them.

At this time, if only your name is on the deed, you have the legal right to change the locks because property law would say that you own the house at this juncture. Therefore, if your husband were to break-in and go through your things you could call the police and have him arrested. Keep in mind that just like getting a court order to keep your husband out of the house to give you some privacy, this could give rise to serious reprecussions if you don't think things out and a divorce or separation proceeding is filed or even if it isn't filed and your husband has control of things that could adversely affect you. Read on and you will understand. It has to do with what a man might do when he is angry. The same concept applies when a woman is angry, something that is commonly referred to as a "woman's scorn."

I'm sure this is not the answer you are looking for, but it is possible to move forward with an action in court to give you the right to privacy in the house where you live. Just keep in mind what repercussions might flow from getting an order keeping him out of the house. For example, if your husband pays for the house and he is angry at the actions you take then (1) he might stop paying or, if your husband provides you with money for food or with health insurance or auto insurance then he might stop contributing money for you to survive on or he might remove you from the health or auto insurance. These are only a few of the things that could happen. You need to always consider what could go wrong or what consequences might follow from any action you take. Please know that this answer is not a substitute for legal advice provided by an attorney who has met with you at length and has had the opportunity to advise you of all the likely things that might occur after he or she has been fully informed of your circumstances, your background, your options, and how you wish to proceed.

I know personally that these matters can be very annoying, scary and challenging. I wish you all the best in dealing with this difficult situation.

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A Divergence from Rhode Island Divorce! CISPA must be Stopped!

April 18, 2013

Atty Chris Pearsall

Authored By: Christopher Pearsall, RI Divorce Attorney
a.k.a. " The Rhode Island Divorce Coach ℠ "

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Publisher on Google+

Friends,

We have a real legal problem here and it isn't related just to divorce!

It's related to PRIVACY! It's been on the horizon for a while but now it's on our doorstep and the companies we love to share our data and social information on are now turning against us and going to to bed with the lobbyists! Imagine if Facebook, Twitter and Google were in favor of a law that gave the government access to all of our information and data without question. No warrants, no subpoenas, no right of privacy, no due process of law.... NOTHING!!!

Privacy would go out the door under the US Constitution because of this new law. It's called CISPA for short and it just passed the House of Representatives. The government already has so much power in our lives. Do you want them to be privy to even every little post or profile information that you put on your social websites when that is exactly what it takes to rank on the search engines. These companies offer us all these great "tools" so subtly and yet what if the plan all along is to be the puppet of the government so the government can invade our every waking though, know what we upload, download, listen to, watch, post, talk about, even our private emails are gone because the government has the right to know it without any due process at all.

Fight for the Future needs your help. I don't have much. Times are tough what with helping all my clients through difficult times but I'm going to help and I'm going to stand by this. If you don't know what this means, take the time to read up on it. These are NOT rights we want to lose. You might as well think of it as the Federal Government and everything you post becomes the property to, if not accessible and usable by the federal government.

The end result, Your Privacy as Guaranteed by the United States Constitution is GONE! This one law would deprive you of it. Get informed people! This is as serious as it gets on a global scale. The companies we trust to provide us with good, enjoyable connecting services are selling us out. Do I know what's behind the scenes? No, I don't, but I know that companies that should be fighting in for their client's privacy are rolling over like dogs to get their tummies scratched.

We have ONE chance! Just ONE chance and if we blow it then we are SCREWED and the chances of reversing this law aren't going to amount to a hill of beans. FightfortheFuture.org is fighting for all of us. They need our help and support both by our action and our contributions. I'm in and frankly I don't mind saying that money is tight and I don't have any money besides my budget to work with but I'll sell what I have to sell on this one, my guitar, my laptop, even my time at 1/10th of the price for a month. Yes, it means that much.

People who know me can tell you I'm taking this more than seriously. I'll live on peanut butter if I have to save money on food. Do I sound extreme? Sorry if you think so of if you are offended but this is the way it is. I never get on a bandwagon.... and I mean NEVER.... but this means killing our right to privacy over the biggest risk there is .... the internet... without ANY due process at all. So there's my post. I advise everyone reading this to subscribe to FightfortheFuture.org and do your part. Last year Millions of people signed a petition and it stopped it's brother law called SOPA. But now they've renamed it CISPA and taken a different approach with approximately the same result, our favorite companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook aren't backing us this time.

If you aren't aware that the 5 major internet providers in the world have already made a agreement with the government to monitor everything we do but not tell us. If you didn't know that and it doesn't bother you then you have a problem with ignorance. Does it matter to you if the government can access any comments to your friends, your private emails, your uploads and downloads, where your children are and when, what your spouses look like, what your weaknesses are, who the most important people in your life are, whether you have commented about receiving money under the table, or whether you have pirated movies, what sites you have accounts on, what games you play, what accounts connect to what other accounts, where you work, where your children go to school, photos of who you love look like, etc.....

Do you see the implications? I"m taking this seriously and so should every attorney and any person who shares "personal" information with other people. What if you suddenly are targeted because you express political views contrary to what the government computers flag and tag. Could you possibly receive repercussions? YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING TAKEN FROM YOU! Your choice! Are you going to give it up without a fight? NOT ME!

Our forefathers fought and died for these rights for a reason. Our fight doesn't involve our lives but the people behind FightForTheFuture.org are mobilizing us and they need out help to save YOUR right to privacy. IF we lose this valuable right, we ALL lose it! WE can't let it happen! Spread the Word! Sign up at that website. Contribute what little or as much as you can.

How much is YOUR PRIVACY WORTH? See why I'm on the soapbox? I don't have enough money to contribute to tell you how much this right is worth to me. What about you?

SitesNotSpies.org

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