Husband took everything and still wants more!

[Ann12]

My husband and I have been married for 5 years (one year separated). He originally put our house deed and mortgage in my name because he claimed he had bad credit. Then he took out a large line of credit (second mortgage) on the house in my name too. He also opened more than 10 credit cards under my name. I did not ever really understand what he was doing and would just sign where he told me because he would yell and threaten me if I ever questioned him - he said he was in charge of our finances and I was to stay out of them. Long story short, he ran up nearly $1M in debts under my name, much of which was due to his gambling habit I was not aware of. Last summer he moved to Las Vegas for several months, supposedly to work, but it turned out he was just gambling more. While he was gone I found out how bad the debts were and what he had done to my credit, as well as several other questionable things. I filed for divorce in Aug 09 but could not afford an attorney. He hired a high priced pit bull and has run me through the ringer. He got the court to give him the house, the car, and all of our marital property (even though everything is in my name) and had me kicked out into the street with nothing but the clothes on my back (I have had to move in with friends and pay rent to use a room). He refused to pay any of the credit card debts, the car loan, or the first and second mortgages. The creditors began to attack me since it was all in my name. Finally in April I was forced to file bankruptcy. All of the debts in my name were discharged in August. During my bankruptcy my husband sold off all of our marital assets of value (TV's, computers, etc) and then claimed the house was robbed (I found some of the "stolen" items for sale by him online). He forged my name on the insurance checks and kept all of the proceeds. Now my husband is taking me to trial in the divorce case because he wants me to sign a quit claim deed over to him for the house and the car so he can continue to use them for free. He has lived in our marital home without having to pay a single bill (other than basic utilities) and has driven the Mercedes free of charge for 14 months. The lenders say they won't get around to doing any foreclosure/repo for two more years and my husband knows this. I have no home, no money, no car, and have to live with the bankruptcy smear on my credit for the rest of my life. Yet my husband is living in a big house with a pool for free, driving a Mercedes for free, spending the money he got from the sale and insurance proceeds of our marital assets to go on lavish vacations to Europe, and has a pit bull attorney who is going to ask the court at my divorce trial in two weeks to have me turn over a quit claim deed to the house and the car AND pay for all of his attorney's fees. I want to fight it, but don't know what I can even ask the court for. Can I ask the court for alimony? We were married less than five years so I didn't think I could. Can I ask the court to make him pay all of the mortgage and car payments he owed while living in the house? Or does he just get to get away with all of this? I can't afford the house or the car but it seems so unfair that he gets to have them for yet another year free of charge. Can you give me any advice about what I should ask the judge for at the trial?

[Attorney Howard Iken]

In the big picture your spouse really isn't getting anything. It sounds like he is just as broke as you are. If you really don't have any money - you do not have to worry about his claim for attorney fees. It will most likely be denied by the judge.

Sorry, but there is nothing here to suggest. Half of nothing is nothing.

Attorney Howard Iken