Dear Wyndhund:
Greetings. Since your spouse is here in NC and the marital property is here, I would recommend that you use a NC attorney. You will want to try to do this through negotiations first, rather than court. If your husband has already retained a divorce, you may have lost any and all rights you have to the house under equitable distribution. You need to find out what has been done by him since you left in 2000.
Yes, all attorneys charge fees up front. We do not bill retainers, but charge flat fees so that our clients are assured how much the final charge will be from the beginning of representation, rather than leaving how much the process will cost open ended. Thank you.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney at Law
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
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 used to live in NC and was married there from 93 to '00…at that point I left, while then husband watched and reviewed (so I was not abandoning the mariage, but rather separating). We had a 3 thousand sq ft.house on the golf course in a small town in NC purchased in '93.
I have been living on my own, now in Pennsylvania, since May 2000. I should like to get a divorce, He had started proceedings then stopped them. No explanation as to why.
He has filled the house with floor to ceiling stacks of items such as old never read newspapers, cereal boxes etc…, leaving just path- ways to manouver through. I have subsequently learnt that this hoarding of items is a certifiable mental instability/disorder. I was seeing a psychologist at the time as I needed affirmation that I wasn’t going ‘crazy’, and was told at the time that I should leave as the marriage was of a ‘toxic’ nature. I have some pictures to show the extent when I left.
I wish a divorce but would like to have my ‘share’ of the value of the house. How do I go about doing this? Must I use a lawyer in NC or can I start with a lawyer in PA? Do all lawyers demand a retainer? Would I be better to proceed with an institution that might check up on him to acertain his mental stability as he ages?I have just been in a car accident that has broken several vertabrae in my spine, hence my need to get this divorce going again, and I do not know where to start. I am 50 years old and my husband (still) is just shy of 70 years old.
I respectfully await an answer.