Legal experts/attorneys? Spousal support/maintenance question in Missouri?

Question

I'm currently going through a divorce and I'm not certain on spousal support/maintenance. My attorney tells me I stand a good chance at times and other times he is not so sure. This divorce is messy and here's the situation: My husband and I married 2 1/2 years ago. After marrrying I had to quit going to college to go to work full time because as a single mother I was given grants to go to school. He promised to pay my tuition but never followed through. Then in March 2007 he convinced me to quit myjob to have more time for him and my children(not common children). In June we started having problems yet he still did not want me to work. I could not work the summer anyhow because the daycare fees for 3 kids were too high. Now before I quit school and work, we bought a home together. I sold my home I had before we married to help with this home. In the time we have been married, my life has changed dramatically from a struggling single mother to the wife of a man making a healthy(cont

6 figure income. In thetime we started having problems, he has ran back and forth from our home, admitted to cheating on me with numerous women, and all of this has completely scarred me emotionally. My nerves are very fragile. Due to this, I have been unable to find a job that I can handle. It is constant upset and many days leaves me drowning in tears and severe nervous tension. He has informed me that he will no longer pay the mortgage and will let the bank foreclose. He has since gotten his own apartment in another area. What are my chances of spousal support or maintenance until I can get back on myfeet? My attorney says not a problem one week adn the next he is unsure. I'm not a money hungry revenge seeking ex-wife, I'm worried about the well being of my children and my health and putting a roof over my children's heads, of which I had before I met him. Only serious answers please, this situation is not to be taken lightly.

Okay, so what about my home? Is he not going to be responsible for this? He is first named on the mortgage, I am only on the deed being that I sold my home to assist with buying this one. So will the state of Missouri allow him to just stop making payments and leave my kids and I on the street so to speak?

Answer 1

If your attorney is equivocating, then seek a second opinion with another attorney in your home state. Drive to another court district, because you want the opinion of an attorney that doesn't know your attorney and has no biases either way.

By the way, you should do this if you have doubts about your attorney.

Answer 2

With only being married such a short period of time, your chances of support is extremely non-existent. Since it's not his child, then no child support. You can ask for the house to be sold in order to get your portion out of it. Sorry, but basically that's all. And I wouldn't have the lawyer spend so much time on it because whatever you get from the settlement of the house, he's going to eat it up in fees. Remember that the 2 lawyers are talking to each other to decide the best way to resolve it & make a profit. Just remember, slavery is over and no one can "make" you do anything. He had you exactly where he wanted you, penniless & powerless. If you really would like to come out on top of this situation, get back together. Then, build your own empire and leave. Haven't your mother ever taught you to have something on your own. Go back & work it like most women do. Tell him that you want to meet him for dinner. Then shyly ask "what happen to us, to our marriage". Tell him that you miss what you guys had & you'll be willing to go to counseling . If it works, then address working. Tell him that you need something constructiive to do with your time, at least part-time & you need to interact with adults all day so that you'd better communicate to him when he gets home instead of treating him like what you practice all day...parent to child. Direct deposit part of your check into a joint account & a portion in a private account. But if you do divorce, learn from it. Never totally depend on anyone else EVER! Good Luck.

Answer 3

If your lawyer cannot do better for you than this, you need a better lawyer. There are plenty in Missouri. You have to understand that Missouri is a no fault state and unless you can go to trial and prove all this with documentation, the best you can hope for is splitting it down the middle. Its unlikely you will get spousal support of any sort, and these aren't his kids. However, there are several good feminist lawyers in the state that can make a case if you think he talked you out of giving up your career. You have to prove these things.

My answer changed after you added information. Get a better lawyer, seriously.

Answer 4

Oh how sad....What a lame *ss miserable excuse for a husband...I was divorced in Missouri.....but my divorce was an easy one in which we decided what was fair before going to a lawyer.....I think your husband is an idiot....he makes a 6 figure income and is threatneing to not make payments on the house in order for it to go into forclosure...I am not sure that he will get away with that...He may have to sell it and give you half the proceeds if there are any...Hope you take this man to the cleaners and get all that you can from him.....

Answer 5

Hiring a lawyer for minor legal problems can be expensive, but there are websites like LawGuru, FindLaw and other places where you can get free legal advice. I found this website useful - http://www.uelp.org/freelegal.html

Answer 6

Honestly you don't stand much of a chance at all. Your period of not working was very short.

I hope you are back to work now and not counting on getting this to support yourself. You have to forge ahead and get back to work and taking care of your kids.