Here's the short version:
I've been a SAHD for nearly four years while my (ex)wife (of eleven years) continued her fairly successful and lucrative career, while I closed my company to stay home with our child. About six weeks ago my (ex)wife informed me that she wanted a divorce, no reason given, and her attorney filed said petition and a Motion for Temporary Exclusive Use and Possession of Home, the home in question being our joint property. I have since retained an attorney and have challenged this motion and have continued to remain in the home.
However, she has cancelled our credit cards and diverted funds from checking & savings to a new and hidden account, and made the "gracious" offer to deposit gas money each week so that I am able to drive our child around. She still expects me to stay home with our child, which I cannot do as I need to find employment. I have attempted to reapply for new credit cards and have been declined, apparently due to a small outstanding medical bill that went to collections. At the moment I have less than $800 cash to my name.
I'm located in a mid-sized town that was a perfect fit for my (ex)wife's career, but was a damning hammer-blow to mine. I have a very specific skill set and twenty years of experience in an obscure industry, that is the unfortunate equivalent of having absolutely no skills whatsoever if I remain in this town. Which I must, if I am to be a future part of my child's life.
Even though I am older, my goal was to go back to school and finish my degree so that I could teach and to one day have a schedule on par with that of my child. I had 85 credit hours from over twenty years ago, and after speaking with two local recruiters found that the local universities will accept none of them. I literally have to start over. Over the past month I've contacted and applied to over thirty companies (within a 50 mile radius) that are even tangentially related to my industry, with no luck whatsoever.
To make it worse, my (ex)wife's extremely wealthy family is bankrolling her legal expenses and have practically inexhaustible funds. They could easily beat me by attrition should they push the matter, as I will have extreme difficulty continuing to pay for my attorney if and when my retainer is depleted.
The plus side, our home is joint property and is valued at approximately $650,000, with $100,000 left on a zero-interest private mortgage. I have no other outstanding debts other that the aforementioned medical bill, which is approximately $500.
Due to the duration of our marriage in this state, I am legally entitled to Alimony (Spousal Support), of between 2.5 and 7 years. My attorney has also filed for Rehabilitative Alimony so that I can return to school.
This week I am planning on cataloging and selling some pre-marital assets of mine and opening a new bank account.
But those are far-off answers, and somewhat uncertain ones. I am looking for anything that can elevate and improve my current situation financially. I don't believe that I require much legal advice, as I do have a competent attorney. I do realize that I've been vague on certain points, primarily because The Ex is a Redditor. However I will edit this post if more information is required. I will also cross-post this based upon suggestions.
Submitted February 06, 2017 at 09:53AM by Sham_of_Optimism http://ift.tt/2lfHcfn
