I was married a few years ago, during our brief marriage my wife was verbally abusive and impossible to please, I was constantly being accus...

Question

I was married a few years ago, during our brief marriage my wife was verbally abusive and impossible to please, I was constantly being accused of things I would never do - but I held on and tried everything I could to make her happy. I found her beautiful and thought I was in love with her. She basically put me through hell, then took everything I had and left the state without ever even giving me her address. The one time she came to pick up some of her stuff she treated me like crap. I am without money, behind on rent, have no car, we have no shared property, no kids together - but like I say aside from the state she's in I have no idea where she's at - I don't know what city or her address or anything. How can I get divorced without knowing where she is and without having any money? I'd like to do something proactive and get this behind me, as it's caused me nothing but pain, but I don't know where to start. Any advice for me?

Answer

Based on your zip code I don't think you live in the Houston area.

You can call your local pro bono (free) legal service provider. You can look on the State Bar of Texas and on my website for a list of pro bono organizations that help people. Be advised that these legal services are often booked up and they are not able to help everyone that applies.

You might also look on this website & try to find an attorney willing to work with you on this divorce. If you cannot find her, then it will need to be a divorce by publication. The problem is that many judges now appoint an attorney to find your spouse. With the internet, often people can be located via facebook or other social media. The problem is that you normally have to pay a fee for this attorney's search for your spouse.

You can try to do it yourself. The forms are available on-line for free. But these free forms normally require that your spouse sign all the paperwork and agree to the divorce. Then you would only have to pay the county filing fee (around $250). I blogged about the new Texas Supreme Court free forms on my blog - http://houstonmediator.blogspot.com -- it was done a few months ago but you can search my blog and find it. There is also a free website for people that want to do the forms themselves - also on my blog.

I hope this info helps.

www.familylaw4u.com