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Hello,
I have been separated from my husband for five and a half years. His
income is a military retirement pension and Social Security
disability. The only income I have on my own is an amount I receive
monthly because he collects disability. We have three children, one of
whom is under 18 years of age.
I would like to divorce him (he has committed adultery numerous times
in the past, and is doing so now.) I consulted an attorney (briefly)
who informed me the waiting period in my county for a court date is 6
months. I am almost certain that were I to file for divorce, my
husband would take all of his money, leaving my son and me homeless
and destitute. My income, at this time, is not enough to support my
son and myself.
Is there any action that can be taken to freeze the financial
situation the way it is now, until a judge would hear our case? As it
stands now, my husband's retirement pension is directly deposited into
our joint checking account, which is in the bank in the city where I
live, so that, and my portion of disability, is what we live on. He
recently had his disability changed from being directly deposited in
our checking account to being sent to his PO box in the city in which
he lives (4 hours away). Every month, he sends me a small amount of
that income.
We are in West Virginia.
Thank you for any advice you can offer,
Isabella
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On 7 Jan 2004 16:43:07 -0800, white_isabella@yahoo.com (Isabella)
wrote:
I have been separated from my husband for five and a half years. His
income is a military retirement pension and Social Security
disability. The only income I have on my own is an amount I receive
monthly because he collects disability. We have three children, one of
whom is under 18 years of age.
I would like to divorce him (he has committed adultery numerous times
in the past, and is doing so now.) I consulted an attorney (briefly)
who informed me the waiting period in my county for a court date is 6
months. I am almost certain that were I to file for divorce, my
husband would take all of his money, leaving my son and me homeless
and destitute. My income, at this time, is not enough to support my
son and myself.
Is there any action that can be taken to freeze the financial
situation the way it is now, until a judge would hear our case? As it
stands now, my husband's retirement pension is directly deposited into
our joint checking account, which is in the bank in the city where I
live, so that, and my portion of disability, is what we live on. He
recently had his disability changed from being directly deposited in
our checking account to being sent to his PO box in the city in which
he lives (4 hours away). Every month, he sends me a small amount of
that income.
We are in West Virginia.
I know nothing about West Virginia law and very little about divorce
law in general, so I'm not of much help. My only suggestion is to
talk to your attorney again about your concerns. If your husband did
what you fear, my hunch is you could go into court much sooner than 6
months to force some kind of temporary support for you and your minor
son, but it would be better for you to talk to your attorney.
------------------------------
Bob Stock, California Attorney
Nothing I've said should be relied on as legal advice.
------------------------------
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I know nothing about West Virginia law and very little about divorce
law in general, so I'm not of much help. My only suggestion is to
talk to your attorney again about your concerns.
You might be able to hire a mediator. Or you might even work out a deal on
your own. Talk to your attorney and maybe even to your husband.
It is possible that he loves you (or does not absolutely hate you) but wants
out of the marriage. If so, he might in fact be willing to leave without
taking all his money with him.
*****
Tim Horrigan <horrigan@aol.com>
*****
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"I am almost certain that were I to file for divorce, my
husband would take all of his money, leaving my son and me homeless
and destitute."
Say what? Ok, first of all, if you're married, there is no "his
money", unless he had those assets prior to marriage, or inherited
them. Any wealth you've accumulated while married belongs to BOTH of
you. So you would likely get half of that. What he would TAKE is his
INCOME.
Second, YOU are not disabled. You're an able-bodied grown woman.
Come to grips with the reality that if you want a divorce, you're
going to have to get a job. He's not going to support you anymore.
He WILL, however, support his under-18 children. It's the law.
I'm sorry your husband is a slime ball, and I don't blame you for
wanting to get a divorce, but whining about wanting to live off of
your soon-to-be ex-husband's disability and pension is pitiable. If
you're going to stand up for yourself (after all these years), then
stand all the way up. You have a claim on half of what you two
accumulated while you were married. But you're not entitled to his
future income. So stop trying to get it.
I'd try to think more positively and constructively, i.e. concentrate
more on how you're going to put your life back together and less on
how you can screw your husband out of his pension so that you won't
have to support yourself.
Just my opinion.
-Pizza
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On 8 Jan 2004, manwithabook@hotmail.com (HomeMadePizza) wrote:
[ OP wrote: ]
. . . first of all, if you're married, there is no "his
money", unless he had those assets prior to marriage,
or inherited them. Any wealth you've accumulated
while married belongs to BOTH of you. So you would
likely get half of that. What he would TAKE is his
INCOME.
* * * I'm sorry your husband is a slime ball, and
I don't blame you for wanting to get a divorce, but
but whining about wanting to live off of your
soon-to-be ex-husband's disability and pension is pitiable.
If "assets . . . accumulated [by a spouse] while married belongs to
BOTH" (as is a fair if general summary of the law in the OP's state),
why, then, the presumption that one of the spouse's pensions earned
during the marriage ought be out of bounds (though that is not the law
in the OP's state)?
. . . YOU are not disabled. You're an able-bodied
grown woman. Come to grips with the reality that
if you want a divorce, you're going to have to get
a job. He's not going to support you anymore.
He WILL, however, support his under-18 children.
It's the law.
It's also "the law" in the OP's state that there shall be "equitable
distribution" of marital assets.
The primary question she posed most recently concerns whether her
state's courts will entertain a motion for preliminary "freeze" (s/k/a
"sequetration") relief in appropriate cases (and yet it appears from
her entire posting read in context of her earlier postings that she
already knows that the answer is "yes").
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