Divorce from incarcerated New York citizen

[abottine]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

My girlfriend is married to a guy that is in prison in New York state for child molestation. He will be there if not for the rest of, the better part of his natural life. As a result of this marriage they have a 12 yr. old child together. He has no contact with the child and as a result of his sentence can not have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. She has not had any contact with him for eleven years. He pays no child or spousal support. We wish of course to proceed with a divorce so that our relationship may take it's natural progression. She says she did investigate, through legal aid, a divorce some years ago and was told She would have to pay for his attorney. Due to her and my financial situations, a large and expensive divorce might be difficult to secure. Our questions are, is She responsible for paying for his legal counsel? Can the divorce be pursued exclusively in the state of Iowa. She wants no contact with him for herself and the child. No financial support of any kind. Just wants to be rid of him so She and her child can go on with their lives. What are Her/our options? How much could something like this cost. No property is involved and the only issue we can think of is his parental rights which we wish to have terminated if they are not already as a result of his conviction and subsequent prison sentence

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

My girlfriend is married to a guy that is in prison in New York state for child molestation. He will be there if not for the rest of, the better part of his natural life. As a result of this marriage they have a 12 yr. old child together. He has no contact with the child and as a result of his sentence can not have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. She has not had any contact with him for eleven years. He pays no child or spousal support. We wish of course to proceed with a divorce so that our relationship may take it's natural progression. She says she did investigate, through legal aid, a divorce some years ago and was told She would have to pay for his attorney. Due to her and my financial situations, a large and expensive divorce might be difficult to secure. Our questions are, is She responsible for paying for his legal counsel? Can the divorce be pursued exclusively in the state of Iowa. She wants no contact with him for herself and the child. No financial support of any kind. Just wants to be rid of him so She and her child can go on with their lives. What are Her/our options? How much could something like this cost. No property is involved and the only issue we can think of is his parental rights which we wish to have terminated if they are not already as a result of his conviction and subsequent prison sentence

The case can proceed in Iowa since she won't be requesting alimony or division of any property.

She should talk to an attorney about whether she'd have to pay his legal expenses. IA is one of the states which will appoint counsel for indigent parents in some circumstances:
http://www.nyls.edu/user_files/1/3/4/30/59/65/68/Capstone070804.pdf

Iowa requires, upon request, appointed counsel for indigent parents in proceedings to voluntarily70 or involuntarily71 terminate parental rights, whether by state or private action.72 This right also extends to the appellate process.73

Since he can have an attorney appointed by the state, I'm not sure that he can demand that she pay. Also, his incarceration will probably be considered voluntary, so she could argue that it's his own fault he can't afford an attorney.

And, of course, if he would agree to termination of his parental rights, it becomes easier.

That, of course, assumes that IA will allow her to terminate his parental rights without someone to adopt (and you can probably not adopt until you're married and have been married for some time).
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.processSearch

A local attorney can guide her.

 

[xylene]

She may consider her options for a new york divorce, as the law allows a relatively expedient divorce of an incarcerated spouse.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

My girlfriend is married to a guy that is in prison in New York state for child molestation. He will be there if not for the rest of, the better part of his natural life. As a result of this marriage they have a 12 yr. old child together. He has no contact with the child and as a result of his sentence can not have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. She has not had any contact with him for eleven years. He pays no child or spousal support. We wish of course to proceed with a divorce so that our relationship may take it's natural progression. She says she did investigate, through legal aid, a divorce some years ago and was told She would have to pay for his attorney. Due to her and my financial situations, a large and expensive divorce might be difficult to secure. Our questions are, is She responsible for paying for his legal counsel? Can the divorce be pursued exclusively in the state of Iowa. She wants no contact with him for herself and the child. No financial support of any kind. Just wants to be rid of him so She and her child can go on with their lives. What are Her/our options? How much could something like this cost. No property is involved and the only issue we can think of is his parental rights which we wish to have terminated if they are not already as a result of his conviction and subsequent prison sentence

I honestly doubt that she would be required to pay for an attorney for him. Its also fairly unlikely that he will even contest the divorce.

However, she can certainly get a consult with a local attorney (not necessarily to hire one, but to consult with one) to see what she may need to do to make sure that a divorce happens.

If his parental rights had been terminated she would know that. There is no such thing as an automatic termination of someone's parental rights. That has to happen via a separate court action.

Don't focus on the termination of parental rights at this point. It would complicate the divorce. She should get the divorce pushed through, and then after the two of you have been married for a while you can explore the option of terminating his parental rights.