Dear David H:
Wow! What a situation. Not the worst I have heard, but pretty bad for your caring mother. It is important to note that some of his large settlement is likely marital and belongs to your mother. She may be able to file a restraining order so that he cannot touch the money until the court determines how much of the settlement she is entitled to. I hear that you say that she does not have funds for an attorney, but with a large settlement potential, she should be advised by an attorney to determine how much of this settlement she can get. Once she knows how much she is entitled to, she may determine that it is a good investment to place her attorney fees on a credit card, borrow the money from family, or finance it another way. She deserves more, and although it may be some time before she can obtain the funds, I believe that she is entitled to them and it would be worth while for her to speak with an attorney soon. Best of luck.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney at Law
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 200
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
NCDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
I am asking this to get a little more information in reference to abandoning of a marriage. My mother is married to a guy that up and left after about five years of marriage. The problem is that he had gotten hurt on the job and she was keeping him up. He was getting workmans comp and medical help. He suied the company he worked for and the insurance comp. He has been out of work for aroun three years now. He received a large amount of money as part of his settlement. He placed this money into another account, and did not let my mother know he had received it. He let her believe that he had no money. We found out later when he left that he had received a large amount of money. This due to when he left he wrote a note telling her that he was leaving, he had put $100.00 in their account, and not bother him. When she went to close out their acount the made mistake and closed the acount he had no told her about along with the joint account. It was later found that he had removed all of the money he had received, and was living in a new moble home at the lake and seven acers of land. He at first tried teling her that it was his mothers home, but his mother is still living in the same house she always has. He had put my mothers address on the tax billing info for mailing. We looked at tax records on-line and found the property, and he had put it in his mothers name. A year later he is now starting to say it is his home. He is still waiting for the other part of his settlement, which is very large, but he is telling her that because he put some of the money in the their joint account for bills, and credit card debt he accquired, that he does not owe her anything. She even kept him on her insurance after they settled with him, and she paid for it with no help from him. What can she do about this when she tries to file for divorce. She has been on short time and ill, so an attorney will be hard to aford.[:(!]