CA,
The law allows you to petition the court to make your husband pay your legal fees if you can’t afford it. Sometimes folks are successful in getting a judge to award attorney’s fees; sometimes not. If you don’t retain an attorney to pursue the claims you may have, and if you don’t pursue them yourself, when and if the divorce judgment is granted, you lose your right to ask the court to award alimony, post-separation support, and an equitable division of property.
As far as your student loans go, a marital debt is defined as a debt incurred for the joint benefit of the parties. If your case were to go to court, a judge could divide that debt equally, but he or she would have to first find that it was a marital debt. There is a presumption that marital debts will be divided equally, and the action you should file in order to try to accomplish that is equitable distribution. If you haven’t already, go to our website and read up on that.
Alimony will continue for an amount of time agreed upon by the parties if the parties enter into a separation agreement, or if alimony is awarded by a judge, he or she will specify how long alimony will last. Typically, judges do set an ending date for alimony.
David L. McGuire
Attorney
The Rosen Law Firm
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.