Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

My husband deserted me in May 2009. He returned only to get his clothes and a few pieces of his personal property. He moved out-of-state (5 hours away) and has not cooperated with me to enter a legal separation agreement or a property settlement agreement. He was verbally abusive to me and has had an affair. Presently, we still are not divorced and have no property agreement due to his lack of disclosure regarding his retirement accounts. I have spent close to $10,000 with lawyer who has since withdrawn from my case because I could not pay her another $8,000. I still live in the marital home, and, although I paid all expenses for the home for the first four months he was gone, I forced him to make mortgage payments that equaled his exact portion of other joint marital bills. I currently am being treated by counselor for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to verbal abuse and because there has been NO CLOSURE to divorce. After asking him four times during this past 1 1/2 years to remove the his remaining personal property (furniture, etc.), he keeps saying he does not have time or he says he doesn't have truck, etc. What is the status of his personal property? Does his property remain in the home without any time limits for him to claim it, or, do I have legal recourse to dispose of property or claim property? I MUST HAVE CLOSURE!

Asked on 12/21/10, 9:43 am

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

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If your husband remains recalcitrant in regard to agreeing to a formal

property settlement in order to move forward with a dissolution of the

marriage, you may want to hold on to these items of personal property

to see if they can be used as leverage in moving him eventually towards

a settlement. (If you dispose of them, you may be providing him with

the basis later on for asserting a claim against you whenever there's a final

adjudication of the marital property matters.)

Answered on 1/02/11, 7:56 am

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