Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: Need to get out of a relationship but can't afford an attorney

I don't know how you can pay for a divorce, either. If your husband has a job, you may find a lawyer who will file the case and ask for temporary alimony, meaning money to pay him- or herself. You sound like you would qualify for a waiver of the filing fee and cost of service, so it would leave the legal fee.

The Worcester County Bar Association offers a sliding scale service using volunteer lawyers, you can try them 8006229700. You probably qualify for legal services, but they have a long waiting list. Legal Assistance Corporation of Central MA 8006493718. They have a self-help online service , www.livejustice.org.

In terms of surviving after, it will depend on a number of possible factors: you may be able to get alimony from your husband, at least while the youngest child is living at home. You may be able to qualify for disability: you can start the process online, but you will have to meet with the SSI and make sure your doctor provides the necessary information the right way. You can get a lawyer to appeal if they turn you down, assuming you have a case. None of your diagnoses seem to be untreatable nor totally disabling, but together they might add up to disability, depending on your age. If you have tried to work and have documentation that the disabilities caused you to stop working, it might help. If you have been a stay-at-home mother with no skills or training for the workplace, you might have to go to a training program, and you might find you can do some work.

If you or your husband, or both of you, own a house, you would be allowed to stay in the house at least until the youngest child is emancipated (married, working and living on his/her own, in the armed forces) or turns 18, 22 if in school full-time.

If he uses illegal drugs, it will be hard for him to come up with the money, unless he has a good job and can limit his drug use. You run the risk that he will wind up in jail sooner or later and unable to pay anything.

Unfortunately, your brief sketch provides very little to go on beyond what I have suggested above