blondiebites
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AL
My stbxh and I have been separated for almost one year now, I asked for a divorce when I found out he was seeing another woman. Little did I know he had just left her for someone he is living with now. He immediately moved out of the house and in with this woman without telling me about any of this. She has been with my children overnight all this time, and I only found out about her living there a few months ago. He drained all of our joint bank accounts and stopped paying all credit card bills with my name on them. I did not know that we were in the financial situation that we were, nor that much of this debt was in my name. My credit is destroyed and I have no money. He now lives in our home with this girl and has every marital asset we have except my vehicle on lockdown. I cannot afford an attorney, and I have been actively seeking work for months now. I do odd jobs, but I am only just now starting to see some possible solid prospects for work. My previous attorney advised me to take a deal at the preliminary hearing based on the fact that I had acquired one of the businesses that he and I owned, which I did not know at the time would not be able to provide me with an income. The bills were several months behind and there were other factors involved that undermined the business which he at one time ran, though it is in my name. He owns and runs several businesses (including a few he has opened since the separation that he is trying to hide from me). He has also been attempting to hide assets. I have solid proof of this as well as the adultery claims. We also own property together. Yes, it's a mess... and to top it off we have small children. I was just a couple weeks away from giving birth to our youngest child when I asked for the divorce.
He is now taking me to court for custody of the children, though I do not know why as his claims are false. I am set to go to trial for that with no attorney this month, then next month for the divorce attorney. I cannot find a lawyer to take me on without a retainer, due to the complexities of my case and the vast amount of hidden income on my stbxh's part. My question is where do I go from here? Legal aid will not help me because there was already a preliminary hearing. I was only awarded one month of child support due to court being one month away and my claiming of one of our businesses. That was months ago. I do not know how to do this by myself, having to not only defend myself but also subpoena information etc. Is this something I should be realistically considering or do I have another route to take with this? I just refuse to believe that there is absolutely no help out there for me. Please, if any of you know of another option I am all ears. I cannot clean out any of our investment accounts because the checks would be mailed directly to him. I cannot sell marital assets without being held in contempt of court... nor can I get near any of them to do so. I am doing the best I can every day while raising three children and struggling, and just hoping that there is a light at the end of this "divorce tunnel"... while he is vacationing and out to dinner all the time... oh yes and supporting his mother, including buying her a new(ish), nice vehicle. He pays all of her bills as well as his own, but refuses to help me.
Throw me a bone... please. I just don't know what else to do at this point.
My stbxh and I have been separated for almost one year now, I asked for a divorce when I found out he was seeing another woman. Little did I know he had just left her for someone he is living with now. He immediately moved out of the house and in with this woman without telling me about any of this. She has been with my children overnight all this time, and I only found out about her living there a few months ago. He drained all of our joint bank accounts and stopped paying all credit card bills with my name on them. I did not know that we were in the financial situation that we were, nor that much of this debt was in my name. My credit is destroyed and I have no money. He now lives in our home with this girl and has every marital asset we have except my vehicle on lockdown. I cannot afford an attorney, and I have been actively seeking work for months now. I do odd jobs, but I am only just now starting to see some possible solid prospects for work. My previous attorney advised me to take a deal at the preliminary hearing based on the fact that I had acquired one of the businesses that he and I owned, which I did not know at the time would not be able to provide me with an income. The bills were several months behind and there were other factors involved that undermined the business which he at one time ran, though it is in my name. He owns and runs several businesses (including a few he has opened since the separation that he is trying to hide from me). He has also been attempting to hide assets. I have solid proof of this as well as the adultery claims. We also own property together. Yes, it's a mess... and to top it off we have small children. I was just a couple weeks away from giving birth to our youngest child when I asked for the divorce.
He is now taking me to court for custody of the children, though I do not know why as his claims are false. I am set to go to trial for that with no attorney this month, then next month for the divorce attorney. I cannot find a lawyer to take me on without a retainer, due to the complexities of my case and the vast amount of hidden income on my stbxh's part. My question is where do I go from here? Legal aid will not help me because there was already a preliminary hearing. I was only awarded one month of child support due to court being one month away and my claiming of one of our businesses. That was months ago. I do not know how to do this by myself, having to not only defend myself but also subpoena information etc. Is this something I should be realistically considering or do I have another route to take with this? I just refuse to believe that there is absolutely no help out there for me. Please, if any of you know of another option I am all ears. I cannot clean out any of our investment accounts because the checks would be mailed directly to him. I cannot sell marital assets without being held in contempt of court... nor can I get near any of them to do so. I am doing the best I can every day while raising three children and struggling, and just hoping that there is a light at the end of this "divorce tunnel"... while he is vacationing and out to dinner all the time... oh yes and supporting his mother, including buying her a new(ish), nice vehicle. He pays all of her bills as well as his own, but refuses to help me.
Throw me a bone... please. I just don't know what else to do at this point.
