Guys, the outcome of your divorce case will substantially change if you do 10 things different from most men going through divorce.

At the top of the list is do not move out unless ordered by the court! By moving out before divorce proceedings begin, you are jeopardizing any chance of joint custody or keeping the house.

Yet time and time again, it’s always the man who leaves the home and the children during a divorce.

When there’s an argument and the wife points to the door and says, “Get out!” it’s as if the guy is a guest at a bed and breakfast and it’s checkout time. He’ll run upstairs, pack his bags, and walk out the door with his tail between his legs.

Moving out will never look good, even if you do so with honorable intentions to “keep the peace” or “give her space.” Courts tend to render decisions that maintain the child’s established custodial environment, which is usually the home where the child resides.

By moving out without a court order and leaving the kids with the mother, your behavior speaks much louder than words. Your behavior is telling the court that you and your wife have agreed that the children are better off in her care than yours. It’s then characterized that the man has other priorities or that he’s not capable of handling the kids.

In addition to the custody aspect, the party that remains in the marital home is more likely to receive exclusive possession of the home until the court issues its final divorce decree. This means you could leave for a few weeks but end up locked out of your home, figuratively and perhaps literally, for several months.

Another aspect of leaving the home that is generally overlooked is the leaving party loses considerable control over the property inside the home. For example, you can’t prevent your spouse from taking a baseball bat to your favorite 52″ HDTV in a fit of anger.

I’m not suggesting men should be forced to spend a year or two in the house while the divorce is pending under very stressful conditions. But at the very least guys should try and obtain a temporary order so that a judge can make that determination.

Even if the judge orders you to leave the home, then you are moving out by court order so the judge knows you are leaving the home involuntary. Now the judge knows you believe the children are better served living with you while this case is pending, not to mention thereafter, even if you are ordered to leave the home.

500,000 men face divorce each year and most will make irreversible mistakes, including moving out of the marital home. Yet this is an area in which men can least afford to slip up because they are in a court system that is already set up against them.

Every example featured in The 10 Stupidest Mistakes Men Make When Facing Divorce is from an actual case—and every piece of advice has been proven to work time and time again.