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Divorce taking nearly 4 years with no end in sight

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DaysofRays

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FLorida

Hello all, I was wondering if I might get some badly needed advice. I am dating a woman who is nearly 4 years into a divorce. We have been dating for nearly 2 years – it will be two years in May.

Yes, she has been trying to divorce the man for almost 4 years, and he does not seem to be inclined to grant her the divorce. 4 years…that seems to me to be ridiculous. Each time she has tried to divorce her husband in the past and hired an attorney, the process would get so dragged out, that she would eventually have to stop the process as she would typically run out of funds.

She and her husband have two children together – both under 10 years old. My girlfriend currently works 3 jobs, and has not received child support from her husband for the past 3+ years. She has paid for their food, clothing, health insurance, etc. She typically has the children 5 nights per week.

Now, since this most recent filing, her husband, who has a lot more financial resources than her and owns his own business, is suddenly wanting 50% custody – meaning that he will not have to pay any child support. He has also been claiming that he has had 50% custody all of the time (a flat out lie based on my own experience) which I guess means he would not have to pay retroactive support.

The problem is that this thing is dragging on yet again, for more months that was originally thought, and my girlfriend cannot keep up financially. Her mother, in the beginning of this thing, foolishly told the attorney that money was no object, that she wanted him to “take the guy to the cleaners” has since bailed leaving her daughter high and dry. Lot’s of bluster but not really any substance to what she said.

Now, here we are today. The husband switched attorneys which resulted in a 6 week delay as the trial was supposed to be set in January. My girlfriend’s mother is not paying anymore, and her attorney suggested settling out of court as a result. Now my girlfriend is $450 in arrears in her payments to her attorney, and neither he nor his office has been in any communication with her. She has tried to contact them to work out payment arrangements but no one ever contacts her or calls her back. It has been 4 weeks and she is in danger of the same thing happening all over again, and she warned her attorney about this in the very beginning, that the clock gets drawn out until all the money is gone. It seems as if her attorney has dropped her without so much as a letter stating so. When I ask her what is happening, all she can tell me is that she does not know, and she figured because she is behind in payments, it will stay that way until she is able to get caught up.

I run a business myself, and so I completely understand that services cannot be rendered without payment in most cases, but what bothers me is the zero communication as to where her case stands right now. I would totally respect her attorney if his office told her where she is in the case, what needs to happen, and if they said that they cannot continue to move forward without some form of payment – I would get that and respect it – I really would. But they are ghosting her completely and she is entirely in the dark as to where she stands in this thing. In light of her mother bailing, I am considering putting up the $450, but honestly, I am reluctant to give a guy $450 who has not even been in any kind of communication with his client. Once the $450 is paid and she is caught up, perhaps he still won’t talk to her as any further calls, emails, or communications are going to be additional moneys of course. We don’t know because he hasn’t communicated anything. Anyone have any advice? Thanks.
 


Proserpina

Senior Member
Yes, I have some advice but you're not going to like it.

Put your relationship on hold until she's actually divorced. It's messy enough as it is and it's not going to get any cleaner any time soon. Her husband doesn't have to grant her a thing, because he cannot stop the inevitable... although he can prolong it, as seems to be the case.

She has children with someone else, and she has a husband who is going to give her the fight of her life over custody; frankly the best thing you can do is stand back for awhile. Your relationship isn't going to help the divorce go more smoothly.

You need to ask yourself a question. Why has this really been going on for 4 years?
 

DaysofRays

Junior Member
Yes, I have some advice but you're not going to like it.

Put your relationship on hold until she's actually divorced. It's messy enough as it is and it's not going to get any cleaner any time soon. Her husband doesn't have to grant her a thing, because he cannot stop the inevitable... although he can prolong it, as seems to be the case.

She has children with someone else, and she has a husband who is going to give her the fight of her life over custody; frankly the best thing you can do is stand back for awhile. Your relationship isn't going to help the divorce go more smoothly.

You need to ask yourself a question. Why has this really been going on for 4 years?
Thank you for your response. Yes, I have considered this as well and this is something that I may very well be talking with her about. You are right in that I am not particularly enamored with this advice, but I do realize it may be sound advice nonetheless. I have just never heard of such a case taking so very long and it is enough to scare me off of marriage completely...and I know that I am probably very naive in these matters....I have never been married. Thanks.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Thank you for your response. Yes, I have considered this as well and this is something that I may very well be talking with her about. You are right in that I am not particularly enamored with this advice, but I do realize it may be sound advice nonetheless. I have just never heard of such a case taking so very long and it is enough to scare me off of marriage completely...and I know that I am probably very naive in these matters....I have never been married. Thanks.
I think you're being very smart by asking questions.

Custody battles are hard, and can be exorbitantly expensive in terms of both time and money. But four years ... realistically there are very few legitimate reasons why at least some things haven't yet been carved out (if not in stone, at least a hearty impression in the mud). She's working three jobs too, right? If I were a gambling gal I'd put money on Dad using that as a reason why he should have custody since she'd be home so little. Y'know?
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Well..... It's taking so long because she seems to stop and start the process. Our divorce took ~ two years, due to custody issues. Perhaps if Mom was willing to consider some sort of joint custody (there are some workable schedules), the process could move forward. I can tell you that, if she continues with a custody fight, there will likely be additional expenses (such as a GAL and possibly a custody evaluation).

She could speak to other attorneys (although she still owes this one the money, regardless) or start doing her own research/legwork and managing her case.

Personally, I'm thinking Mom got fed up with footing the bill when her daughter kept stopping the process. You know what they say about "doing your business" or getting off the pot. Sounds like cupcake may not really be all that invested in proceeding with a divorce. I agree that it is time for you to distance yourself.
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FLorida

Hello all, I was wondering if I might get some badly needed advice. I am dating a woman who is nearly 4 years into a divorce. We have been dating for nearly 2 years – it will be two years in May.

Yes, she has been trying to divorce the man for almost 4 years, and he does not seem to be inclined to grant her the divorce. 4 years…that seems to me to be ridiculous. Each time she has tried to divorce her husband in the past and hired an attorney, the process would get so dragged out, that she would eventually have to stop the process as she would typically run out of funds.

She and her husband have two children together – both under 10 years old. My girlfriend currently works 3 jobs, and has not received child support from her husband for the past 3+ years. She has paid for their food, clothing, health insurance, etc. She typically has the children 5 nights per week.

Now, since this most recent filing, her husband, who has a lot more financial resources than her and owns his own business, is suddenly wanting 50% custody – meaning that he will not have to pay any child support. He has also been claiming that he has had 50% custody all of the time (a flat out lie based on my own experience) which I guess means he would not have to pay retroactive support.

The problem is that this thing is dragging on yet again, for more months that was originally thought, and my girlfriend cannot keep up financially. Her mother, in the beginning of this thing, foolishly told the attorney that money was no object, that she wanted him to “take the guy to the cleaners” has since bailed leaving her daughter high and dry. Lot’s of bluster but not really any substance to what she said.

Now, here we are today. The husband switched attorneys which resulted in a 6 week delay as the trial was supposed to be set in January. My girlfriend’s mother is not paying anymore, and her attorney suggested settling out of court as a result. Now my girlfriend is $450 in arrears in her payments to her attorney, and neither he nor his office has been in any communication with her. She has tried to contact them to work out payment arrangements but no one ever contacts her or calls her back. It has been 4 weeks and she is in danger of the same thing happening all over again, and she warned her attorney about this in the very beginning, that the clock gets drawn out until all the money is gone. It seems as if her attorney has dropped her without so much as a letter stating so. When I ask her what is happening, all she can tell me is that she does not know, and she figured because she is behind in payments, it will stay that way until she is able to get caught up.

I run a business myself, and so I completely understand that services cannot be rendered without payment in most cases, but what bothers me is the zero communication as to where her case stands right now. I would totally respect her attorney if his office told her where she is in the case, what needs to happen, and if they said that they cannot continue to move forward without some form of payment – I would get that and respect it – I really would. But they are ghosting her completely and she is entirely in the dark as to where she stands in this thing. In light of her mother bailing, I am considering putting up the $450, but honestly, I am reluctant to give a guy $450 who has not even been in any kind of communication with his client. Once the $450 is paid and she is caught up, perhaps he still won’t talk to her as any further calls, emails, or communications are going to be additional moneys of course. We don’t know because he hasn’t communicated anything. Anyone have any advice? Thanks.
Marry someone in Florida? Do you have a death wish?

If you're stupid enough to marry this woman or any other, remember your future ex- MIL's words to your future ex-wife, "take him to the cleaners". That's exactly what will happen when it's your turn.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If she really wanted to be divorced she would be divorced. People don't spend 4 years getting divorced if they actuslly want to be divorced. Sounds like she may be in it for the battle more than the finality. Ya gotta watch people like that. You'll never win an argument because settling the issue isn't the intent. It's having the argument.




Then, why people mix things like custody and support into a divorce I can never figure out. Custody and support is subject to regular modification so putting it into an order you want to never be revisited just doesn't make sense to me. The relationship between the parents and the relationship between the parents and the children are distinctly different matters. Settle the marriage issues in the divorce. Leave the custody and support issues to be dealt with independently. It's going to change anyway.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
If she really wanted to be divorced she would be divorced. People don't spend 4 years getting divorced if they actuslly want to be divorced. Sounds like she may be in it for the battle more than the finality. Ya gotta watch people like that. You'll never win an argument because settling the issue isn't the intent. It's having the argument.
Yes.

Then, why people mix things like custody and support into a divorce I can never figure out. Custody and support is subject to regular modification so putting it into an order you want to never be revisited just doesn't make sense to me. The relationship between the parents and the relationship between the parents and the children are distinctly different matters. Settle the marriage issues in the divorce. Leave the custody and support issues to be dealt with independently. It's going to change anyway.
Not quite. While CS is relatively easy to modify, custody is not. Not without a CoC - you know this jal.

But OP's cupcake is a peach. And Bali's on point on this one.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Yes.



Not quite. While CS is relatively easy to modify, custody is not. Not without a CoC - you know this jal.

But OP's cupcake is a peach. And Bali's on point on this one.
. What the intent was was that this stuff should not be in the divorce, especially if it is a hang up to the divorce moving forward. Custody and support are changeable (regardless of the difficulty involved) so putting them into a divorce simply makes no sense. You want the divorce action to be cleared and closed with no reason to revisit it...EVER. It's hard enough when you have spousal maintenance or any continuing payments but since those are pretty much well defined and settled, it's easier to deal with. With the children situation, it's fluid.
 

commentator

Senior Member
O.P. you remind me of the married man's mistress who decides to walk away. And then shortly thereafter, the married man she had begged and waited for to divorce his wife got the long anticipated divorce and walked away, married someone else quickly. She asked him why it had worked out this way, and he said, "Well, you were the only thing making it possible for me to tolerate that awful marriage all those years!"

Your girlfriend, this other man's wife (still) and the mother of these children is using you to make her life good while she shilly shallies and plays her husband. You are perhaps a tad innocent here, are really sincerely caring and believing what you are hearing, but what you are actually seeing is a person who at the very kindest can't make up her mind, can't act decisively, and is all prepared to stop and drop, fake it, begin again, cry about it, drop it, in other words, someone who is playing you and her mother and her husband while you make her life all better in the meantime. Why should she move on and get the divorce worked out, get custody set up, where she will have to act like an adult in dealing with her husband?

You need to talk to a good and wise counselor about this, someone perhaps that you respect and whose advice you will listen to. DO NOT put up $ for her to pay her divorce lawyer unless you are fully prepared for her to get the divorce and dump you because you remind her of the bad times while she was trying to get the divorce! If you are a business owner who is the least bit savvy, you need to check out the Florida divorce laws as they would affect the two of you if you marry this woman. You understand the importance of getting sound advice. You don't trust your business interests to your whims and feelings, you use hard facts and the advice of experts. You should do more of the same regarding your relationship with Miss Maybe here.
 

DaysofRays

Junior Member
Yes.



Not quite. While CS is relatively easy to modify, custody is not. Not without a CoC - you know this jal.

But OP's cupcake is a peach. And Bali's on point on this one.
All very good points. Thanks all for the feedback - plenty to chew on here...
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
Watch the movie War of The Roses. Then quietly find yourself a new girlfriend, lest you accidentally be foolish enough to marry her yourself in the future.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Marry someone in Florida? Do you have a death wish?

If you're stupid enough to marry this woman or any other, remember your future ex- MIL's words to your future ex-wife, "take him to the cleaners". That's exactly what will happen when it's your turn.
Stone the crows.

Bali, I'm agreeing with you.

:eek:

You are dead right on this one. OP, in this scenario, Bali knows of what he speaks.
 

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