Is it legal to break in?

[Sirdouglasb12]

I live in Minnesota

My wife and I are currently separated. She will be filing papers for divorce soon, however, at this point nothing has been filed.

I moved out of the rented house we shared. Technically, she had me thrown out by filing a bogus Order for Protection, which she later dropped. She has not allowed me adequate access for me to retrieve my personal belongings since then.

I talked to a sheriff's deputy and was told that as long as I can do it peacefully, I can legally enter that house (that I used to live in) and retrieve my belongings. Even if she is not home at the time, I would still be within the law to do this.

Can anyone confirm this for me? I would like to be able to enter the house when she is not home so that I can get the rest of my belongings. I would not do any damage to the property by entering, nor would I intend to do any type of vandalism or take things that are clearly not mine.

 

[justalayman]

as long as there is no court order requiring you to not be there which would include a PPO or if she had filed for divorce and requested to stay in the apartment with you leaving, there should be nothing stopping you from entering the apartment and retrieving your possessions.

you might want to make a call to the local police just before you are doing it should a neighbor call the police or some other surprise come about.

 

[ecmst12]

For the 3rd time....

DO NOT START MULTIPLE THREADS ABOUT THE SAME SITUATION!

 

[LdiJ]

as long as there is no court order requiring you to not be there which would include a PPO or if she had filed for divorce and requested to stay in the apartment with you leaving, there should be nothing stopping you from entering the apartment and retrieving your possessions.

you might want to make a call to the local police just before you are doing it should a neighbor call the police or some other surprise come about.

I would recommend that you have the police do a civil standby if at all possible. I would also strongly recommend AGAINST breaking in if your key no longer works. If that is the case, you should have the police do a civil standby while she is home.

 

[justalayman]

=LdiJ;2502566]I would recommend that you have the police do a civil standby if at all possible.

definately a good idea if possible

I would also strongly recommend AGAINST breaking in if your key no longer works. If that is the case, you should have the police do a civil standby while she is home.

maybe bump the LL for access.

 

[LdiJ]

definately a good idea if possible




maybe bump the LL for access.

The bolded is an option too.

I am always nervous about the whole breaking in bit if there has been any violence reported (even if bogus). There are always other options that are less likely to lead to further problems.