Want a divorce, but don't know where to start

[Walrusman]

What is the name of your state?
Kentucky is the state of marriage.
Ohio is where we currently live.



Where do I start?

My girlfriend wants a divorce from her husband, but he is noplace to be found. Long story short, he took off with everything, ran up a credit card & wrote bad checks on their joint accounts. Although the accounts are frozen & can no longer be used, the money is still outstanding & needs repaid.

There are no children or houses. No other possessions, because he took everything from her. She wants to forget it all, get the divorce done & get her credit back to the good.

She was told to draw up papers & send the divorce papers to his last known address & if he didn't show up to court, she could be granted a divorce, but would have to settle for 1/2 the debt. We would like to get married someday, but we can't until this is settled.

Can you advise "anything" based on this information? We would love to hear any suggestions, before paying money out for a lawyer. We know we need to do it, but money is tight & we are looking at possibly sharing a new debt as well, with paying on this outstanding money owed to the banks.

Thank you all for your time.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?
Kentucky is the state of marriage.
Ohio is where we currently live.



Where do I start?

My girlfriend wants a divorce from her husband, but he is noplace to be found. Long story short, he took off with everything, ran up a credit card & wrote bad checks on their joint accounts. Although the accounts are frozen & can no longer be used, the money is still outstanding & needs repaid.

There are no children or houses. No other possessions, because he took everything from her. She wants to forget it all, get the divorce done & get her credit back to the good.

She was told to draw up papers & send the divorce papers to his last known address & if he didn't show up to court, she could be granted a divorce, but would have to settle for 1/2 the debt. We would like to get married someday, but we can't until this is settled.

Can you advise "anything" based on this information? We would love to hear any suggestions, before paying money out for a lawyer. We know we need to do it, but money is tight & we are looking at possibly sharing a new debt as well, with paying on this outstanding money owed to the banks.

Thank you all for your time.

Sadly, if she really wants her credit repaired she is going to have to pay ALL the debt, not just 1/2 of the debt. The debt is in her name and the creditors/banks will not be a party to the divorce and will not be bound by the terms of the divorce. Therefore they WILL go after her for the money.

Normally, simply sending the paperwork to his last known address isn't good enough. Its normally necessary to serve him via publication.

 

[minerzlegal]

I am not an attorney, but I would be looking into getting an attorney for the divorce, and depending on the amount of debt she is left with I would consider talking to an attorney about a full bankruptcy. Good Luck.