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I dont know if it really makes a difference, but I feel a need to know. I had an accident in 2019 and put 19k from a 401k in her account to pay medical bills. Then I changed jobs a year later and had the loan forgivin and had a cash out of another 35k that went into her account. She work a mental health provider and had a lot of experience with insurance and was a c-suite employee making really good money for our area. She was is my wife and I trusted her. She told me she was gay a little over a year ago and gave options of ending marriage, having an open marriage or continuing on like we have. I told her that I couldn't tell her what she should do but that if I was married I needed to be in a monogamous marriage. She later told me she knew she was bi because she loved me so much. I started seeing a counselor and attempted to find out what are financial situation was that always involved her yelling at me how we weren't going to fight in front of the kids or if alone that I always ruined any of our time together. In that year she quit her job and took one that paid less than half her previous pay. Started working where I do. Then one day the mailman asked me if I wanted my mail since there was a change of address put in. I said yes and that I would have to ask my wife what was up. She assured me all was fine, but when I got home she and my boys and cats were gone. She said it happend that way because everybody said I was violent and unpredictable but that's not true. Then later she said it was because she had anxiety was the reason. Then asked for money. When I asked about our savings she said they were gone. All of my medical still needs paid she left me with ton of utility debt and took alot of the items of value in the house. Our most expensive monthly bill is 383 per month but in 3 years she spent over 200k and left me so much debt and 30 dollars in my account. I can't process any of this. How could someone Ioved and spent 11 years with do this to me? She also took all the tax returns and that doesn't even count another 90000 I made in those 3 years. I don't even know how to go forward. Can't afford a lawyer and she just keeps threatening me if I ever ask questions. A few weeks before she moved out she told me how much she loved that I was always honest with her. How could she say that if she wasnt?
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This is definitely very unfair and deceptive. Do lawyers work 'pro-bono' on cases like this? Or family that would help you out to get this taken care of legally? A equitable split of debts, custody and access decided? One thing that I think is certain is that you will never be able to negotiate with her without a court involved. I believe she will threaten, accuse, try to deny you access to the kids, demand money, etc. forever.
Is she malicious or incompetent? I'd suggest the former and tack on selfish and deceptive. If you were to dig, I'd wager there's another person involved here, and continuing on in the marriage was an impediment, or no longer necessary, from her perspective. She spent that 200K on something, someone, or socked it away in an account you do not know of.
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Your situation gives me a queasy feeling. How awful!
I am no expert in any of this...but, I really do think a lawyer is needed. You need to know what legal grounds you have in all this. Have you separated your accounts? Do you have an account that is in your name to safely put the money you're earning now?
Could you try contacting lawyers/agencies to see if there is a low fee option? Or a no money down type of thing? That's about all I got...
At this point you're just left reeling from all of the shock, change, betrayal etc. Also see if there is any sort of support you can get or benefits you can use to talk to a therapist to start processing all the emotions. It's a literal shit storm that swallows a person whole. All a person has is to take it one day at a time.
This group is amazing for support so keep airing your grievances and hopefully someone else will have some helpful advice
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I’m sorry this has happened and I’m sorry to have to tell you my opinion:
The fact that you honestly think ‘incompetence’ is a possible explanation just shows to me how horribly you have been manipulated.
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You still are married and you want a divorce, right? Getting a lawyer is going to be necessary because you already know that you cannot trust her. You need the attorney to look out for your interests and give you good advice.
I strongly suggest that you to gather your financial records and, if you are in the US, get free copies of your credit reports from all 3 credit bureaus to see if there are any surprises, such as credit opened in your name that you did not authorize. Go to the website annualcreditreport.com for more information and watch out for other sites which may mislead you.
Divorce involves not only ending a marriage but dividing assets and liabilities. It is a time for a reckoning of
where assets have gone. Start looking for an attorney. Be proactive and make sure that there are no ways that she can seize more funds. Open savings and checking accounts in your name alone and take her off any credit cards that you have opened where she has a courtesy card (where you opened the account and are solely responsible for the bills). If you have life insurance - including any through your employer - you may want to remove her as a beneficiary.
The more you take control of your life the better you will feel.
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I am so sorry you are going through this. I think you need a lawyer. A possible site to help could be womenslaw.org. It is for anyone, not just women. Your situation sounds like financial abuse. It is so incredibly difficult to believe that someone we completely loved and trusted could be so cruel. Do you have a trusted friend or relative that you can talk to?