I need to know my rights. Does anyone have a good source for legal information? I need to know about property and money. We don't have any children so that's no an issue.

I've spent countless hours on the internet in the last two days and talked to a lawyer yesterday. My sources online are: www.divorcesource.com and www.divorcelawinfo.com/index.htm. I also suggest asking friends for the name of a good lawyer.

I'm sorry your going thru this too.

Thank you for the reply. We share mutual friends so talking to them isn't an option. All I have right now is my family and they don't know anything. It's amazing how ugly people can get when it comes to ending a marriage. I brought it up to my husband and he basically said if I left, I'd be leaving empty handed. I don't know if that's what we should do. I posted on another board about my husband changing his mind about having children.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Kalenie:
<strong> I brought it up to my husband and he basically said if I left, I'd be leaving empty handed. I don't know if that's what we should do. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I don't know what your story is, how long yuo've been married, why you want to divorce, etc. But depending on what state you live in, the laws vary. If you live in a community property state, you are entitled to half of all assets accumulated during the marriage.

If I were you, I'd go to Google and type in Texas divorce laws, obviously replacing Texas with your state.

I can tell you however that generally when you mention the word divorce to someone they feel pretty threatened and will say just about anything to threaten you back - thus the 'you'll walk out of here empty handed' statement. Find out as much as you can so you don't have to believe whatever he says, and contact a divorce attorney as soon as you are ready.

Kalenie, you have some serious issues in your marriage, and some serious decisions to make, but I would think that property and money would be just about the least significant of the factors you should be considering.

The only way you're really going to get a valid answer on the property and money issue is to consult a lawyer. (Trust me, whatever the law says, it may not have much bearing on what actually happens in the courts.) But, you have only been married a short time, you don't have a house, and you don't have children. Furthermore, it sounds as though you went into the marriage with a bit of debt. So, unless I'm missing something, even if you walk away empty-handed you would be getting out with a lot lower economic cost than what many of us here have experienced.

My advice is to decide whether you want to fully commit to this marriage, or whether you want to get out, based on what you believe to be right. Either way, the impact on your soul and spirit is going to be much higher than the impact on your pocketbook.

I don't want anyone here to think I'm a GD. The only property I'm concerned about is a brand new vehicle which he GAVE me when we got married. It was a gift and my car was sold since we don't need three. He attempted to take away my car. I've been driving this car for 6 months and we own it free an clear but he said since he paid for it with his cash he had before me, it's not mine.

Just because this man decides all of the sudden he doesn't want children anymore, I have to suffer. I don't think so.

All I want is my car, and some money to get on my feet.

If your H is anything like mine he is going to try to make you feel like you don't deserve anything. Don't ever feel like a GD! You need to be able to get on your feet again, and especially if you are the one taking the kids. You really need to find a lawyer and just show them what's going on and ask if they feel if thier is something there worth persuing. See if the lawyer fees are worth what you should be getting and decide from there.

With my lawyer, he gave me one free hour with him to discuss the details and decide if this would be worth persuing. From there I knew what was fair and legal, and since my husband's offer was not fair, I decided to hire him as my attorney.

People do get very ugly during divorce for some reason. For me, I let myself have bubble bath, pint of ice cream and a good long cry... but from that moment on, if it deals with the marriage I will not let myself think with my heart. I am here to get my fair share and get out and go on with life.

I hope this all works out for the best! Be strong!

<small>[ February 20, 2005, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: tart ]</small>