Divorce clinics at law schools
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Anonymous
| Any of them around MD? A friend of mine needs to file for a divorce and he husband has already cleared out the bank accounts and kicked her out. She has almost nothing and has been a stay at home mom. Custody won’t be an issue (shared) and child support will be by formula, but she has literally a suitcase. They were. It married long and she didn’t have a great career or anything that she gave up so she didn’t bring much to the marriage of 3 years. But still, this is crazy. She cannot even afford to hire representation, much less get a car and apartment to live in. |
Anonymous
| Doesn’t she have family? Parents alive? Siblings? |
Anonymous
| What county is she in? These types of clinics tend to be operated on a more regional than state-wide basis, and are often through local courts or non-profits. If she’s a victim of domestic violence, there are likely to be more options. |
Anonymous
| No family and no money. Friends (except me) have disengaged over last couple years bc of toxic marriage. I don’t want to mention the county. It is maryland in the extended dc area. Unreal what is going on. Again, it is a small world so I really can’t put more details. |
Anonymous
She's an orphan with no siblings? |
Anonymous
| If her own family doesn’t want her op, yours doesn’t either. She must have done something really bad. And why can’t she do her own research? That is odd. |
Anonymous
| I think it may be better to have her start with her local legal aid program: https://www.mdlab.org/. |
Anonymous
Courts will often make child custody and visitation decisions based on a parent's living accommodations. How does she have shared custody and child support if she is living out of a suitcase---and where--on your couch? |
Anonymous
| One of the most important things that stay at home mothers need to do in order to win custody is to find a job. Remaining unemployed will not show the court that you are prepared to take on the financial responsibilities of caring for the children and are going to be relying on child support, only making your spouse’s/ex’s case stronger. By working to bring income into the home, the court will see how much having custody and care of the children means to you, so make every effort to bring home a paycheck. |
Anonymous
|
She is on my couch, yes. She has family in another country without resources. She has not done anything bad. She doesn’t have any custody yet, too early for that. Husband will share, that isn’t an issue. He doesn’t want the kids more than 50%.
Issue is that she was a stay at home mom, no separate assets. She cannot pay for someone to help her negotiate the divorce. I am here asking for advice. I will look for legal aide. |
Anonymous
Why would have he have the kids with him, throw her out and cut off finances then? Are the kids in danger? If the kids are with him, she can't see him as a 'danger', correct? |
Anonymous
Ignore this jerk OP. They clearly have issues. Here are some links to some resources: https://www.justia.com/lawyers/divorce/maryland/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services |
Anonymous
| I don't think a law school clinic is the right place to handle this type of issue. It sounds more complicated than the types of matters typically handled there. I would try legal aid. |
Anonymous
|
If she is in Prince George’s County, start here:
https://www.clspgc.org/ Have her apply for SNAP benefits, Medicaid for child and herself just in case. For shelter look into transition homes. She should seek a pendente lite order (temporary order) requiring access to the home, or file for emergency alimony, and officially file for custody. An attorney can explain the process. There are ways she can protect herself legally even without an attorney though it will be a lot of threading the needle and then sewing the hem. The county matters for more specific resources. She wants to consult with attorneys in the county that she will file for divorce in, who are familiar with the local practices and in good standing with judges. |
Anonymous
|
One more thing. She can call lawyers all day long and conflict out as many as possible. And she needs to immediately look for any type of income that will support her providing a stable home environment. Those are specific actions she can take now.
She can also call The Women’s Center, however they operate in DC and VA. Still, they may be able to refer your friend to a partner agency in her county of residence/filing. I’m sorry to hear a family experiencing this, especially after such a tough year, and especially during the holiday season. Keep in mind many court proceedings are delayed or operating on a difference schedule with covid orders in place. Call the county district court and speak to a court clerk about court procedure for requesting an emergency hearing for a temporary order. She should file for divorce and child support today. She can find packages online that are fairly simple templates and I’m sure the county has a child support enforcement agency. Child support that is collected by the state starts from the day of filing; she needs to file for that now. Even if a decision isn’t made until later, the child will have back pay awarded to date of filing. |