We live in Texas.
My sister recently married a man after five months of dating. After they married his long-time alcoholism was brought to light because he lost his job-- due to drinking on the clock several times. He had previously worked there for 11 years. He smokes marijuana for "anxiety" and can't get a job elsewhere because he won't pass a tox screen. She makes all the income and pays all his child support and bills.
Allegedly he's forced her to deposit her income into his bank account for him to dole out. He has destroyed her cell phone and the pay as you go phone she got afterward because he doesn't want her talking to people without his say. She and I work at the same location though not together: she recently had to defend herself to our boss for a sub par 90 day evaluation. The exchange happened via email, the husband read it and did not appreciate her sharing information about how difficult he's made her life so he cut the wiring so that no one in the home (she has five children in the home also, one an adult) has internet access anymore. She used to get injections for migraines until he found out our nurse is male -- she is now forbidden to get the injections and she's missed a lot of work because of pain.. hence the undesirable work eval. He also now drives her and the other family members to and from wherever they need to go but otherwise the vehicle is strictly for his own use. She's asked him to leave but he says since his name is on the lease and her money belongs to him, he's going nowhere.
She called me today from work and left a series of voice mails about these struggles and said she's made changes to her life insurance etc so that the kids will be taken care of "when I'm gone," that this is the "worst mistake" etc. I went by her house but she was gone. With her husband. Her kids didn't know where. Earlier this week my adult niece had complained about the husband's behavior. Her phone belongs to her and not the family so he did not destroy her phone and I drove her around to look at some apartments because she said she wanted to move out. I didn't know things were this dire.
My sister needs to divorce him and get a restraining order... but he's never physically hurt her. We live in a very small town and I don't know what resources are here or how to find them. What should she do? Am I able to intervene in any way or is this just legally her battle?
My sister recently married a man after five months of dating. After they married his long-time alcoholism was brought to light because he lost his job-- due to drinking on the clock several times. He had previously worked there for 11 years. He smokes marijuana for "anxiety" and can't get a job elsewhere because he won't pass a tox screen. She makes all the income and pays all his child support and bills.
Allegedly he's forced her to deposit her income into his bank account for him to dole out. He has destroyed her cell phone and the pay as you go phone she got afterward because he doesn't want her talking to people without his say. She and I work at the same location though not together: she recently had to defend herself to our boss for a sub par 90 day evaluation. The exchange happened via email, the husband read it and did not appreciate her sharing information about how difficult he's made her life so he cut the wiring so that no one in the home (she has five children in the home also, one an adult) has internet access anymore. She used to get injections for migraines until he found out our nurse is male -- she is now forbidden to get the injections and she's missed a lot of work because of pain.. hence the undesirable work eval. He also now drives her and the other family members to and from wherever they need to go but otherwise the vehicle is strictly for his own use. She's asked him to leave but he says since his name is on the lease and her money belongs to him, he's going nowhere.
She called me today from work and left a series of voice mails about these struggles and said she's made changes to her life insurance etc so that the kids will be taken care of "when I'm gone," that this is the "worst mistake" etc. I went by her house but she was gone. With her husband. Her kids didn't know where. Earlier this week my adult niece had complained about the husband's behavior. Her phone belongs to her and not the family so he did not destroy her phone and I drove her around to look at some apartments because she said she wanted to move out. I didn't know things were this dire.
My sister needs to divorce him and get a restraining order... but he's never physically hurt her. We live in a very small town and I don't know what resources are here or how to find them. What should she do? Am I able to intervene in any way or is this just legally her battle?
