My husband’s alcoholism has gone from bad to worse, causing constant fighting and arguing. He told me to file for divorce, which was not what I really wanted.
We are still in the same house. It is in my name alone, bought before the marriage, and he signed a quit claim leaving it as my sole and separate property when I refinanced.
I have been responsible for the mortgage payment and most bills. I have used 100% of my net pay on taking care of the bills (over $5000 a month). He would put in about $300 a week for groceries, outings, and gas, when he felt like it.
I am being nice by not getting a restraining order. He is very abusive, and there are about 10 incident reports with the sheriff’s dept. I don’t want to force him out, evict him, or anything like that. But my daughter and I can’t even live in peace because he comes to her room to harrass me every single evening (I stay in her room since we only have 2 bedrooms)
Here are the main financial details. I refinanced when prices were high. The value has dropped about 150K from 360K to 210K, and I owe 219K, so there’s no equity in the house whatsoever. There are also loans, credit cards, and car payments. The credit cards are all in my name because of his bad credit, but he has used them and accrued thousands in debt, which he has never tried to pay. The debt is about 110K. I am currently able to pay all of the bills, and with some adjustments, probably do so even without any of his income, since he gave me so little.
To me it seems like if he went after the house (my sole and separate property), we would both owe about 110K to pay off the mortgage and another 50K to pay the bills.
To me it just seems like leaving my house to me and letting me assume all the debts makes more sense. He can easily live off his income in an apartment, and have money left over. But he says he will get alimony because he is used to vacations, Lakers games, and other things.
He says his parents are hiring a lawyer because he is getting half the house (that has no equity), alimony because he is used to a certain lifestyle (even though 2 years of our 6 year marriage were spent in prison), and he is going to make sure that my daughter and I have no where to go.
What could a lawyer possibly do to benefit him in this situation? There is no equity and no money, but there is over 100k in debt. He is making so many threats that I feel like I will be on the streets.
Why would a lawyer want a case like this?
If you have any experience with this or know anything about this from a legal standpoint, please please share your infomation with me. I will greatly appreciate it.