Q: Can my husband of 30 yrs file divorce. Without me knowing Keep my alimony & etirement

A: I'm so sorry for you! After California designed the first "no fault divorce," every state that I'm aware of adopted the so-called "no fault divorce." This means, unlike in Hollywood movies gone by, where the protagonist would scoff at the wife and say, "I'll drag this out for years if you file on me!" With "no fault," there is NO requirement for your husband to file divorce claiming "fault grounds - habitual intemperance, fraud, cruelty etc." in Idaho and elsewhere, now all that is needed is a "Petition for Divorce," claiming that the "parties have differences that are irreconcilable" in order to get divorced. HOWEVER, he cannot do this without you knowing about it! You MUST personally receive a copy of the Summons (which tells you that you've got 20 days to worry about something but doesn't say what," and the Petition, which tells you what the Petitioner wants, as far as things in the divorce, etc. So, if you don't receive both the Summons and the Petition for Divorce, you should call me. On the other hand, if you receive both Summons and the Petition and when you read it you see that it's basically okay, then you don't need to do anything, just "sit on your hands" and do nothing. In 21-25 days, you will receive in the mail a copy of the Decree of Divorce, signed by the judge.

The GOOD NEWS, is that he canNOT cheat you out of a large portion of his retirement, hopefully enough to support you! And he SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CHEAT YOU OUT OF ALIMONY, because alimony is awarded, unfortunately not forever, on the basis of one party being unable to financially support themselves, and you certainly seem to qualify for that. How long you're able to receive it, is typically less than one (1) year. Good Luck to you!! I think you should try to get a lawyer so that they can make sure that he doesn't cheat you out of his retirement!