Married to Illegal Alien- Considering Separation

Dear Anna,

The amount of money he owes to the IRS will impact the garnishment and they may reduce it depending on the child support obligation that he has to you.

If you are fearful that he may take your daughter to another country you can get a court order preventing him from leaving the country. If you seek this type of order a Judge will determine how likely they think it is that they believe he would actually leave. If he is a good father, it is unlikely that a court would only grant him supervised visitation.

The pre marital agreement dealing with custody is not enforceable and would not be considered by the court.

Your questions are very specific, I would advise you to set up an initial consultation so that they can answer the questions specific to your case.

Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax

10925 David Taylor Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax

1829 East Franklin Street, Bldg 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.321.0780 main phone
919.787.6668 main fax

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 married to an illegal alien.I am an American citizen. We have one child together . Our daughter will be one in a few weeks.

I have various reasons for wanting a divorce from him, one of them being that he owes thousands of dollars to the IRS, and he had accumulated all that debt before he met me, and now he wants my help in paying it off. this is just one of the many problems he has. He has also been having internet sexual chats with other women and emails, some of which I have printed out as proof!
Anyway, I wanted to find out what my rights are regarding separation.
I have asked him to leave the apartment( lease is in my name only) several times, but he won’t leave.
What can I do? I certainly am not leaving. Lease is in my name and I lived here before we even got together.
I am hesitant to file for a legal separation bc i am afraid that he will not pay spousal support and child support due to his irregular work schedule AND his debt to the IRS. The IRS is threatening to take his work wages( he is a 1099) I am worried that any spousal support and child support awarded would not be paid to me since he has the IRS debt. Would the IRS take priority in garnishment or would my daughter and I?
I also fear that he might try to take my daughter and return to his home country.
I am not sure what I need to do at this point. We are very dependent on his wages. I babysit but it certainly isnt enough to pay the rent or the car payment or my health insurance bill etc.
If I retain a lawyer for a situation like this, what kind of retainer would I be looking at?
He is a good father but due to his illegal status, I would not ever trust him to have unsupervised visits with her for fear of him fleeing the country.
Before we were married, he signed a pre marital agreement with me stating he would give me sole custody of our child if we ever were to split. This was notarized. Would this hold up in court?