DIVORCE

FAMILY LAW:

A Divorce Decree Does Not Prohibit the Parties from Continuing to Live Together If They Have Little Other Choice

Parties who agree to separate, following marital difficulties, usually live in separate accommodations after any legal documents are completed. It would have been considered odd, up to relatively recently, if they continued to live under the same roof having legally separated.

In today’s world, this no longer applies as it is often difficult, if not impossible, for a spouse, following separation to purchase another property to live in, and which comes with an additional layer of household expenses.

Some couples who separate have little option but to continue living together in the same house although under totally different living arrangements. The parties may still share the same address but effectively live separate lives.

This may not be ideal, but the courts have recognised the fact of these arrangements and have not queried their legitimacy over the years. You can be legally separated from your spouse who continues to live in the room above you in the same house.

But what is the position of parties who are legally divorced from each other? Can the divorce be regarded as fully valid if they are living together at the same address, even if no longer in an intimate and committed relationship?

A recent High Court case answers this question with a resounding Yes.

In that case, the parties had agreed to continue to share the family home, even after the decree of divorce, as they lacked the resources to buy another property.

The court noted the unusual living arrangements proposed by the divorcing parties, but queried whether there was any good reason to justify it in refusing the decree of divorce. Any clause in the Divorce Act which suggested such arrangements were not possible, was not to be treated as a prohibition, but only a statement of what the normal position should be following divorce.

In a decisive moment in the judgement, the court stated that “if a couple can be considered as living apart from one another, while living in the same dwelling, provided that they are not living together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship, it is difficult to see any principled objection to a similar arrangement continuing by agreement after a decree of divorce is granted”.

The court found that the proposed living arrangements were brought about principally by the housing crisis and the difficulties that either party would likely face in securing alternative accommodation at an affordable cost. 

An older case was referred to where the judge, in that case, was satisfied that in the same way two people can live apart, and still maintain a loving and committed relationship, two people could also live together without being in a marital relationship as everything depends on the intentions of the parties.

The living and other arrangements proposed by the parties were pragmatic, given the circumstances, and would likely minimise the stress and upheaval in the family the court found.

The court, therefore granted the decree of divorce applied for and made other orders in the terms of the settlement agreement.

R V M [2023] IEHC 748.