Moving out during a divorce or separation

When a household splits, the move is often the most concrete part of a difficult time. Furniture, kitchen things and boxes have to be divided and taken to two places, sometimes on the same day. This guide covers the logistics only. We do not give legal or financial advice, and how belongings are divided is for you, your former partner and, where relevant, your attorneys or mediator to decide before move day.

A moving crew cannot referee which lamp goes where. Before move day, agree in writing on what goes to each address and what stays. Then mark it physically: colored tape or stickers on furniture and boxes, one color per destination, and a third color for items staying. The foreman will follow the labels. If something is unlabeled or disputed on the day, the crew will set it aside rather than guess.

If both people are leaving the home on the same day, one job can load everything and deliver to two addresses. On a local move there is no fee for an extra stop; it only adds time. Loading in the order of delivery saves time, so tell us which address is first. If the moves happen on different days or one person stays in the home, two separate jobs are cleaner, each with its own 3-hour minimum and its own bill.

Tell us who will meet the crew at each address, and share that person's phone number; the crew calls 30 minutes before arrival. Payment is due at the end of each job by cash, money order, Visa or Mastercard. If two people are splitting one job, agree beforehand who pays; we bill the job, not individual items. Separate jobs give each person their own invoice.

Rates are $175 per hour for 3 movers and $235 for 4 (2 movers at $145 for a very small move), every day, with a 3-hour minimum and 15-minute increments. Drive time from our yard to you is free; when two addresses are more than 10 minutes apart, the drive between them is billed as double drive time under California rules. A one-bedroom's worth of furniture and boxes usually takes 3 to 5 hours.

Sometimes one person does not yet have a new place. Climate-controlled storage, billed as a flat monthly fee in 30-day periods, can hold their share until they do. When they are ready, we deliver it. See storage.

• Agree on the split in writing.
• Label everything with one color per destination.
• Pack personal documents, valuables and medication separately and keep them with you.
• Decide the order of drop-offs.
• Name the contact person at each address.
• Agree who pays, or book two jobs.

Many people find it easier if only one of the two is present at a time, or if a friend or family member meets the crew instead. That is fine; tell us who it is. The crew works from the labels and the list, so nobody has to negotiate in front of them. If children live in the home, consider arranging for them to be elsewhere for the day.