any help is appreciated

[carol1206]

What is the name of your state? NJ
I have been married for over 18 years (separated for the last 18 months). The marriage produced 3 children under the age of 18. I recently went through the courts for child support so that end is taken care of. My Union provides a small amount of free legal service but the lawyer is still asking for a $2500 retainer which I can't afford, to file the divorce papers. I have elected to wait the 18 months and then file on my own through the county court.

I have been working at the same job for over 5 years. Unfortunately I haven't been able to obtain a full time position since they are hard to come by (supermarket chain). Would I be eligible for alimony and how do I go about it? I'm trying to do most of this on my own and am overwhelmed at times. Thanks for any advice.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by carol1206

What is the name of your state? NJ
I have been married for over 18 years (separated for the last 18 months). The marriage produced 3 children under the age of 18. I recently went through the courts for child support so that end is taken care of. My Union provides a small amount of free legal service but the lawyer is still asking for a $2500 retainer which I can't afford, to file the divorce papers. I have elected to wait the 18 months and then file on my own through the county court.

I have been working at the same job for over 5 years. Unfortunately I haven't been able to obtain a full time position since they are hard to come by (supermarket chain). Would I be eligible for alimony and how do I go about it? I'm trying to do most of this on my own and am overwhelmed at times. Thanks for any advice.

You can certainly ask for alimony since you were in a long term marriage. However if you have been able to support yourself these past 18 months that may make it difficult for a judge to justify alimony. Again however you can certainly ask.

The more concerning issues however would be property settlement issues. its easy to make mistakes when you don't have an attorney. You need to be sure that you get your fair share of any property, include real estate and 401k or IRA plans.

[carol1206]

There is no property to divide. We only rent a house which I now live in. Any contents he wanted, he took when he moved out. No joint bank accounts, credit cards or loans and no 401K plans to my knowledge. We were one of those poor unfortunate couples who lived week to week with $0 assets. Thats why I figured it would be easier to file though the courts myself. The only other issue would be continued education for the children. I'm sure that would have to be at least 50/50.