Q: I need to find a lawyer that is in Ontario OR. for divorce and family law. I'm a single mom who works 2 jobs I need help
My ex and I have been separated since nov 15 2014. He has not seen kids on regular basis and not a dime of child support then he ups and leaves to move back to CA with his parents. I moved here for him so he could be closer to his daughter left everyone I Knew, are marriage ended 4 year later. I want full custody child support he also has left me with about 40,000.00 in debt what can i do with that. I'm scared he is going to get my kids he has no grounds to back it up but the stress will just be to much on our kids I want to end this peaceful not a war but he makes it a war.
A:
Get on the internet and search for a family law lawyer in Ontario Oregon. You can also call the Oregon State Bar and ask for the lawyer referral service. They will give you names of Family Law lawyers in your area who will give you one consultation for a cheap price. (503-620-0222). Searching on the internet will give you more choices because not all lawyers chose to participate in the lawyer referral program. The program tends to attract newer less experienced lawyers who are trying to build their practice. However you can interview as many lawyers as you want until you find the one that will work with you.
As for the $40k in debt. You can talk to a bankruptcy lawyer in your area. It should be easy to file bankruptcy and wipe out that debt, at least to wipe out your responsibility for the debt. Your ex may have to pay the debt or file his own bankruptcy but that is up to him.
Since you have been the primary parent since 2014 it sounds like, you probably don't have much risk of not getting custody. This is just a guess based on your brief description so definitely confirm that with a lawyer that you actually meet with and discuss the entire situation with.
Be aware that you can ask the district attorney of the county where you live to establish child support. This is a free service and you don't have to formally have custody to get this help. However, I would highly recommend that you file for custody at the same time you ask for child support to prevent your ex from grabbing the children in an attempt to avoid paying child support when he gets served papers for the child support.
There are forms at the courthouse that will help you file to get custody. You should talk to an attorney first before filling out and filing these forms. But you might be able to cut your legal fee costs by doing your own paperwork and just paying for a few consultations with an Attorney to advise you and review the forms.
A: https://answers.justia.com/question/2018/02/16/i-need-to-find-a-lawyer-that-is-in-ontar-394606
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