Legal Question in Family Law in California

I am going through a divorce. It was intiated by me, because after 15 years - I was sick of being the only one working 2 jobs, coming home and having to clean and do laundry, never getting a break. My husband is on disability, but only when it comes to work. If he needs to go work on a car or help his friends, he is all of a sudden able to do so. He never tried going out and finding a job and I became fed up. We moved into differnt rooms. But he harrased me continually about repairing a relationship that i no longer want to be a part of. One night he attacked me in my room, I ran out and called the police. I waited for them there, until they escorted me and allowed me to get my things and left. I did not file the report. That's when I ended up filing for divorce, after that incident. Fast forward a few weeks - He now controls the house - changed all the locks and kicked out our youngest son (18yrsold) from the residence. He got a lawyer and is filing for alimony and support. I no longer work the two jobs - In fact, I have no job at all. I lost one of them before it all happened and while during this harrasment period, he would wait for me outside my job to harrass me, and he called my work place continually harrasing my co workers and trying to have me lose my license -he calls the board, telling them that I stole, when i did not. My company was also downsizing and needless to say I genuinly felt unsafe around him, combined with the stalking and the harrassing, I couldnt return to work. I tried moving elsewhere, all the while continuing to pay the mortgage and the bills but he only ended up following me there - he somehow tracked me down, - to again harass me. Now its been a few weeks and he has stopped, and has gotten a lawyer - I get a letter in the mail requesting that I pay not only for his support during the divoce but his attorney fees as well. I have been applying to jobs for the past few months and have gotten nothing. Went on interviews but offered no job - down to my last 2000 bucks and living free of charge in the home of a friend. What I want to know - is with these circumstances, am I going to have to pay his lawyer fees and alimony, if i dont have a job and with all the harrassment and his sabatage of my job? He also claims that he has no where to go, but our adult children have offered him support, financially and otherwise and he refuses to accept them, he's only out for revenge. Why am I supposed to pay his fees, when I dont even have a lawyer of my own or cant even afford one. Can anyone offer me any advice or give me an idea of what to expect with my circumstances?


Asked on 4/18/13, 11:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

You are posting from an out of state zip code in California. California attorneys can only advise you as to the law in California, and it is not clear where your divorce is pending.

The best thing you can do is get a consultation from a family law attorney. In some situations in California, the court can order you to pay his attorney's fees pursuant to Family Code section 2030.

If your divorce is not pending in California, you need to repost in the state category where it is pending.

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Answered on 4/19/13, 10:49 am


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