Generally, one person decides to end a relationship – the decision is rarely mutual. The other spouse will invariably be very angry at first. It takes time for the spouse who is unprepared for your decision to come to terms with it.

My advice is to keep the status quo for yourself and ask your spouse to move out of the marital home. If the other spouse is abusive and is taking her/his anger out on the children, you should ask your attorney about the following:

1. an order excluding your spouse from home

2. an order of temporary supervised visitation with the children.

This would allow you to be safe at home. Also, this would avoid the upheaval for the children who otherwise may have to move out of the house with you to another residence. You should try to keep the children near their friends, their school, and their habitual environment during divorce.