Q: My mom was told by her husband he was leaving her. She saw a lawyer and he told her she is screwed.
My mother saw a divorce attorney 2 months ago and he said she was screwed because she has always been the "breadwinner" and made more than him. Everything is also in her name. She has worked so hard for everything and has a 16 year old daughter. Will she still lose 50%? Can the fact that the husband was emotionally abusive for years make a difference? I'm really worried she is going to lose half of everything she owns because of him. He even told her that he was leaving her through a text message. What can I do? Another thing is he was set to inherit money from his recently deceased mother that he was fighting his siblings in court over. The lawyer told her that unless he put the money into a joint checking account she wasn't entitled to any of it. What can I do to help her?
A:
I am not if your mom is screwed and I would never tell a client that unless it was true. That being said, it depends non what your father made as income. Your mom may be able to show the court abuse. In Alabama, after ten years, a spouse is entitled to half of a retirement account, unless your father had equal savings as well.
It does not sound like she wants to stay in the marriage, and money is never a reason to stay in an unhappy marriage.
as to the inherited money, that is correct. the inherited funds would belong to your father.
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