QUESTION
How do I begin divorce proceedings and get a temporary financial restraining order when my spouse won't move out?
Asked on Jan 10th, 2018 on Divorce - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My spouse is withholding financial support from me and my daughter and won't give me any credit cards. I am a stay-at-home mom and am being forced to look for a job. He is living like a bachelor and spending all day at work, coming home only to sleep. No communication is taking place. He no longer answers my phone calls or texts or e-mails. He owns his own business and has kept me in the dark as to how much it's worth. We have been married 30 years. He has done this sort of thing in the past, throughout our marriage, but this is the worst, yet. I'm afraid he's already moving money. A lawyer says that it will cost me $6,000 to get things rolling. I don't have that kind of money. I desperately need advice. Thank you.
1 ANSWER
Family Law Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Prism Family Law
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I encourage you to continue seeking legal advice in your particular area. Most law offices offer low cost (or sometimes free) initial consultations which should shed some light on your situation and answer many of your questions. Some law firms also have much lower initial retainer fees than $6k and may offer payment plans.
One of our blogs discusses how the marital home is typically distributed during divorce in north carolina, which may shed some light on scenarios when both parties dig their heels in and refuse to leave the house. Your situation is a complicated one that would likely need to be attacked from several angles...there are a number of potential avenues you could go down, including divorce from bed and board, postseparation support/alimony, equitable distribution/interim distribution, child custody/child support, temporary restraining order to prevent marital waste, etc...Hope this helps a bit.
Answered on Jan 16th, 2018 at 6:35 AM