Q: Would I have a good chance of being awarded our house if I divorce him?
My husband lost his job 7 years ago and has not worked since. I am disabled and have been paying all of the bills. He applied for early retirement at 55 (he is now 57) and only gets $600 a month. He pays for gas for the car, that's it. A few months after he lost his job we were behind on our mortgage with no way to pay it. We always struggled to pay it and my father often came to the rescue. My father allowed me to cash in a trust that he had set up for me and I paid off the mortgage. The original mortgage was $150,000 in 2003. I paid the remaining $108,000 with my trust money plus $21,000 in credit card debt. I have since been left an inheritance that is almost gone because I am paying more out than I have coming in every month. We have a 16 year old and an autistic 19 year old living at home. Aside from money, it is a small house and he is a hoarder. The clutter is affecting all of us. I don't expect that he will pay any support, but I am hoping to keep the house.
A: If these are the facts, then you have am argument to make to the Court that the equities are on your side of the balance sheet, but you should engage a divorce attorney and not try to present this information yourself. Divorce is not a paint by the numbers or press the lever and get the outcome thing. It could potentially be argued that he was unwell or that you requested he be at home with the children for example.
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