Opinion ID: 1598067
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Whether the chancellor abused his discretion in attaching conditions to the wife's temporary use of the marital home, requiring her to obtain written consent from the husband to rent or to have any unrelated male spend the night in any portion of the home.

Text: ¶ 17. The chancellor's decision to allow Bob approval rights regarding rental of the marital home seems logical. Gigi will live in the house for only a few years, while Bob is still the owner and as such has a vested interest in the type of tenant living in the house. To give Gigi unfettered discretion as to who is permitted to rent the other side of the house could also subject her to liability should the tenant damage the property. The chancellor's finding as to Bob's right of tenant approval is upheld. ¶ 18. The chancellor did err by requiring Gigi to obtain Bob's written consent before allowing an unrelated male to spend the night in her home. While Gigi's use of the marital home may be seen as akin to alimony, this restriction is unreasonable. There can be many situations involving overnight guests which do not rise to the level of cohabitation, and a constraint such as this impinges upon Gigi's ability to live her life as a single adult. We, therefore, reverse and render as to the issue of overnight company.