My wife & I were married for 17 years, during which she has been very violent & unstable. We based on complete lies reside in Suffolk County, NY. We have two children together, ages 17 & 12. We have been discussing divorce for a while now. We had agreed that I would move out & we would mediate the divorce, but she threw me for a loop. Out of nowhere, and based on complete lies, she hits me with a stay-away order that she got from the family court. This was only three days before I was moving out anyway. She closed all of our bank accounts, took all of our tax refund money, took all the money from her 401k, even took the last $300 I had in my pocket! I am currently on unemployment while she works full-time. She managed to hire herself a fancy lawyer (with what is half my money), and I can’t afford to pay my rent. She filed for divorce & served me already, grounds being cruel & inhumane treatment. I cannot afford an attorney. All of my credit cards have been shut off & all my assets disappeared. My question is, what if I choose to ignore her summons to buy time to save up some money? Can she be granted a divorce if I don’t respond? I have contacted the Modest-Means Committee in Nassau/Suffolk County & was told I don’t qualify for assistance. No decent attorney will take the case without several thousand dollars that I don’t have. The biggest issue in the divorce is custody. My kids want to live with me, but she won’t even allow them to visit right now. Please help!
Try calling the Nassau Bar Association and ask for the pro bono matrimonial division and see if they can assist you.
Do not default on the Answer. You must reply within the given time allotted. If you cannot get assistance from the Bar Assoc., try the matrimonial part of the Nassau Supreme Court County Clerk’s office for assistance in preparing the Answer.
If you are not working and she is, you can ask for spousal support from her!
Leonard M. Weiner. Esq./Divorce Solutions