living in the same house while separated

hello, I'm not sure if I am on the right forum, but here goes. I am in the very early stages of a separation. I want my husband to leave the family home. We have two small children. He has a history of gambling, cheating and telling lies. I work full time and although I have a good wage, I am struggling financially, because of his gambling and general attitude to money. He set up a small business a while ago, which he has neglected and now has debts. He hides these from me. I have only found out about the debts by coming across information that he has hidden. I was paying off an e8k debt that he had since before I met him (this went to court, due to him ignoring all notices), but I have just recently stopped paying that. He is refusing to leave the family home, doesn't want to separate, loves the kids. In the short term, how can I best protect my assets, and my home ? The mortgage is in my name for the last ten years. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm worn out by it all. thanks

You need to go to a solicitor. You probably need to issue Judicial Separation proceedings. It would be better if you could both go to mediation to agree the terms of separation but if he does not want to separate, that probably won't work.

You should not have any joint accounts - at least then you can be sure , if the accounts are in your sole name, that the bills will be paid.

It is also important to recognise this person as your husband and a father to his children. Whatever his faults are, he is still the person you married and a loving parent. It's not just as easy as you wanting him to leave the family home.

mf