© SAGE Publications. Objective: It is imperative to know families' opinions about where patients should live after discharge from involuntary hospitalization in the era of community mental health. Methods: Questionnaires were sent (March-May 2011) to 808 guardians of patients who were involuntarily hospitalized in Japan (response rate = 54.2%). The final sample size was 365 family members. Whether families wanted to live with the patient after discharge from the hospital was the primary outcome variable. The associations of the demographic characteristics of the patients and families with the outcome variable were tested using logistic regression analysis. Results: Approximately, 19% of the family guardians wanted to live with the patient after discharge from the hospital. Their wish to cohabit was positively associated with being a female (vs male) patient, having three or more cohabitants in the home and having lived together before hospitalization, after adjusting for the other covariates. Long-term hospitalization (10 years or longer) and siblings were significantly associated with the families not wanting to cohabit, after adjusting for the other covariates. Conclusion: It is important to know families' opinions about patients' living situations after discharge from involuntary hospitalization to provide them with an effective support system.