Weve veen seperated for 9 years, cant afford legal fees to proceed. Im living in the house we purchased and he is living in his own home. He pays no child support. And he is trying to evict me from my home. What can i do?

Cindy,
My husband just told me Sunday that he was moving out after 34 years of marriage. Several of my girlfriends kept telling me you have to call an attorney you have to call! This is the last thing I felt like doing but I finally did and so far I have only had a brief phone conversation and will have a free consultation meeting with her on Friday. But the short bit I did learn is that my state, Georgia, has no legal separation laws. So she advised me over and over not to allow a separation to go on because there is nothing that legally binds him to keep giving me money or paying the mortgage or anything. She advised me to give him an ultimatum of either come back and we go to counseling and work on the marriage (and no other relationships permitted) or we file for divorce. She said there can be no in between because of exactly what you're experiencing. A separation can go on indefinitely and you have no recourse at all unless you are in a state that has legal separation and even then you have to have an agreement drawn up. I know you said there is no money for legal fees but I am in that same boat. I will have to borrow some from my dad or something and I am 57 years old so that feels pretty crappy to have to ask for parental help at this age. But the attorney feels pretty confidant that we could recover those fees and get my husband to pay them in the divorce and I could pay my dad back. I don't know if anyone could help you but you might be able to recover those fees too and repay them. This has gone on too long for you and he is taking advantage. You need legal help. I don't know if a loan is a possibility if there is no family that can help? You have to move on this now before you really do end up on the street. I know I am in no position to give advise since this just happened to me a few days ago but I just felt like I needed to share what little I learned. You may have rights that you are not aware of and knowledge is a powerful thing. Most attorneys will give you a free consultation and you can have several of them and choose the best one to work with your financial situation. Then when you choose one you will have to give them a retainer before they will do any real work for you. Forgive me if I am telling you stuff you already know. Just trying to help. Scared to death myself and can't sleep so I don't know how you have done it for this long. Hang in there.

Cindy: If you have a women's services center nearby, I would contact them and I would also call your local public housing dept. and tell them what is happening and see if they have a place for you to stay. Also, see if there is anyone doing "pro bono" (free) legal services for women in your area (contact your local Bar Association or women's services.)