Divorce help for a friend

mrodgers

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 29, 2009
Messages
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I come here for suggestions not because of me. This is a family member whom I can't give advise to because I'm not a lawyer, nor have I ever gone through divorce or gotten myself into a situation like this. No one knows me here, or knows the people in question, thus I thought I could lay it all out here.

This family member is getting a divorce. He has merely a part time job for gas money and is going to school full time. He only has 1 semester to go I think.

She is a major boofer. They owe on a house, 2 cars, 2 motorcycles, and a bunch of credit cards. She leaves for half a week at a time and was paying for everything. The last 4 months, she had no income and he sold most of the stuff they've accumulated to pay the house and vehicle payments. Think, they have several dogs and she keeps them in her bedroom with her at all times when she is there and allows them to have accidents, then doesn't clean it up.

As I said, she is a major boofer. She has completely trashed the house (think worse than you see on "Horders" on TLC/DSC.) There is no way they will be able to sell the house.

He can't afford a lawyer. I told him he needs a lawyer immediately because she will do everything she can to destroy him because that is how she is. She claims she already talked to a lawyer, but hasn't filed divorce papers. Currently, she is leaving town Thursday through Sunday or Monday and also racking up more and more on credit cards.

I didn't tell him what he needs to do, but gave suggestions such as free consultation with a lawyer. I don't know if he should immediately cancel all credit cards (I think they are all in his name while house and vehicles are in both.) She was paying all the house and vehicle payments, so he is afraid she will quit that if he cancels all the CC's. In this situation with bills, at what point does the CC bills change from marital bills to personal bills?

Why he is stuck on her we can't figure out. My wife told him what the family thinks of her, which is she is a filthy disgusting skank b****, which is indeed what she is. She is a habitual lier and a manipulative fraud. He talks to my wife in which she convinces him to move out and back in with the parents. He then talks to the other sister (who is a bit weird in our eyes as well) and gets turned around to where he thinks he wants to work things out. This isn't going to happen. She is gone most of the time and sounds to us like she is with someone else now (which doesn't happen to be with the opposite sex.) Actually, it sounds like she is out gallivanting around with several people.

I can't say about other family members whether he would get help financially for lawyer fees or anything. It was suggested to me also from people I know whom have gone through divorce and seen nasty divorces of friends through the years that he should count his losses from the house and stuff and just walk away. I would describe the house as, it needs burned down to the ground, that is how disgusting it is. They've had it for 6 years from the time they first got married.

I don't know what to suggest for him as far as walking away, contact a lawyer, what to do about the property and what is owed, or what to do about the CC's, and along with school. He really wants to finish school and is almost done. He's doing excellent in school. He wants to reconcile with the family for the way he has disrespected everyone and blown everyone off from being manipulated by her. Like I said, she is a manipulative lier and has brainwashed him, for lack of a better description. He's gone along with all her lies and manipulative ways and has drifted further away from the family as the years have gone by. We all saw it from day one.

When my wife and I met, he was merely a kid. He was such a nice kid also. I don't know why or how he ended up with her and we all are not sure if we should have said something a long time ago (she was a neighbor and the family was well known to be a family of disgusting boofers.) Like I said, he wants to reconcile with the family, has a place to stay at the parents' house, but also will have no vehicle because he wouldn't be able to pay for what he has, and has basically no possessions of his own coming from this situation (everything in our opinion should be burned and destroyed, house, furniture, etc as it is all in disgusting shape.) He has very little income working part time in a grocery store while going to school full time.

Just hoping to get some thoughts on this so I can lend some moral support. My immediate suggestion is for him to move out as soon as possible, cancel all CC's so she can't rack up more debt while still under marital status, and contact a lawyer, but the cost problem exists with contacting a lawyer.
 
Urban dictionary definition number 3 states it reasonably....

"The Term Boofer in western Pa. Is used to describe a person who dresses poorly. A person who is unkempt."

I'm not exactly rich and don't have a lot of cash, but my house is kept clean and tidy without throwing all my garbage and junk out in the yard and trashing my house and possesions. I guess it is a western PA description.
 

I'm confused - she's been supporting him for 6 years while he goes to school and he is just finishing up and now he wants a divorce because she's a "boofer"?? Was she a boofer before they got married?

Anyway, to answer your question, the cheapest way to deal with the divorce is for them to get together and come to some sort of agreement on how they want to split the assets and the bills and then share the cost of a lawyer doing the paperwork.
 
I'm confused - she's been supporting him for 6 years while he goes to school and he is just finishing up and now he wants a divorce because she's a "boofer"?? Was she a boofer before they got married?

She must have been a boofer before they got married. The OP states that she is from a well known family of disgusting boofers. So she was evidently born a boofer.
 
Boofer...now that is a new one.

She just disappears for days at a stretch with no explanation?

If this were a man doing it to a woman, I would say pack up all his belongings when he leaves and leave them out on the curb for him. Then change the locks. not so sure I wouldn't suggest the same for the guy in this situation.

The REAl answer is that he needs a lawyer.
 
Definitely needs a lawyer. If she has been supporting him through college and through no fault of her own has no job right now, the emotional stuff, like being a 'disgusting boofer' really will have no bearing on the financial part. He REALLY really really needs a lawyer.

Kelly
 
He should cancel his cards and put a fraud alert on his credit reports so she can't open any new ones (or get any other type of credit) in his name.

Normally I'd say he has to quit school for a while and work full time until he gets back on his feet again, but with only one semester left it might be better to stick it out and finish. If there is anyway a family member or friend can let him crash at their place and let him live there for cheap (or even free) while he finishes, that would be the best solution. Living somewhere else, who cares if she stops paying on the mortgage? He will need to figure out transportation if she stops paying on his car though. Can he afford to take over the payment, or can he afford to find a really cheap car and finance it on his own? Can he scrape up enough to buy a bondo-buggy with cash? Are distances short enough that he can just ride a bike to work and school? What about a cheap motorscooter or motorcycle? Can he figure out a way to car pool with people and just chip in for gas?

If he can crash somewhere while he finishes school, that puts him in a better position to find a job, it also gets him out of the "boofers" house and away from that drama. With the CC's closed and the fraud alert on his credit, he'll be cut off from her financially as well. Since there are no kids involved he can even hold off on filing for divorce until he has enough $$$ to pay for a lawyer (though if she files on him, he'll need to pony up and hire one ASAP).

He's in a mess, but with no kids in the picture and a bit of help from family and friends, he should be able to turn this around in a relatively short amount of time.

Whatever he does, tell him to make sure "boofer" doesn't get pregnant!
 
When the marriage does eventually end the biggest thing in his favor is the fact that she has always assumed all the finances of the household and he has a crummy job. Not only would most of the financial burden end up with her but he might even end up with palimony if he has a decent attorney. From what you've said I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't trying to purposefully bring down the value of the home so that when the marriage assets are split it would keep what she owes him down.

Before she can get a chance to hurt him he really should open up a new secret card to be mailed to your address and use it to charge a lawyer consultation. Ask around for the best divorce lawyer in the area and get him/her on your side before the wife gets #1.
 
Thanks folks, you all are pretty much saying what I was thinking as well.

For the record, the wife wasn't supporting the financial part for years or anything. He was working and going to school in the evenings. It is also continuation from schooling he had previous to meeting her. He quit working for 1 year so he could finish up the final year full time and get it done.

And yes, to answer some of the comments, he does have a place to stay if he should leave, and it is commutable to school.

I agree with the lawyer and did tell him that last night. I wasn't sure what advise to give him on the CC's. Some I think are in both names and some in seperate names. I understand that usually assets and debt responsibility should be split 50/50, but someone told me that he has recently seen a similar situation in which the CC companies didn't care a bit what was settled in the courts, they go for whoever's name is on the account. It is debt that they collected together, it's just that she is now tossing money on them basically living out of the house for most of the time, I am guessing partying it up on the weekends (judging by how we view her.)

For the record also to counter some comments, she started the "I want a divorce" talk, then left the house for a while. Came back and stated she contacted a lawyer. This last time came back for a few days and said he'll see the papers soon and walked out the door.

There is also unproved infidelity, the only proof is the fact that there is doubt the dogs got into the top dresser drawer and used all but 3 condoms of a new box.

Ok, thanks. You all pretty much mirror what I was thinking. I and my wife can only provide emotional support to him, but we want to see that he straightens himself out and doesn't get into too much hurt over it all. He is an adult, but emotionally it is like we are dealing with a child. My wife is the most clear headed for lack of better description than others in the family, thus he ends up calling several times a day talking to her now.
 
"that there is doubt the dogs got into the top dresser drawer and used all but 3 condoms of a new box"<----rotfl...sorry

he needs to see a lawyer and cancel the CC's asap. If he is the primary card holder he will be the one the CC companies come after.
 
Marriage counseling.


LMAO!! Seriously?? :lmao::lmao:

He needs to

1) get a new credit card in his name only, have it sent somewhere safe.
2) Close all his other accounts immediately!
3) Make sure she can't open anymore accounts in his name.
4) Call an attorney.
5) Bring the animals to a shelter (unless he wants to take care of them).
6) Attempt to clean the house
 
I think it is fairly apparent that she's got a new guy somewhere, evidenced by her disappearing on Thursdays and reappearing on Mondays.

He should call a lawyer. Call the bar association in your area, here in CT they have some thing you can join for a small fee (less than $100 I think) which provides a lawyer referall service and an initial consultation with a lawyer who specializes in whatever you need. Maybe that would help point him in the right direction.
 
LMAO!! Seriously?? :lmao::lmao:
Yes. Seriously.

Their marriage is clearly in trouble, but we don't have any facts related to it. Instead, we have the typical disboards double hearsay. On these boards, the default when this happens is to declare that an immediate divorce is necessary. In the real world, however, marriages are entered into by people who love one another and those people owe it to themselves and their spouse to try to fix problems in their marriage.
 
Yes. Seriously.

Their marriage is clearly in trouble, but we don't have any facts related to it. Instead, we have the typical disboards double hearsay. On these boards, the default when this happens is to declare that an immediate divorce is necessary. In the real world, however, marriages are entered into by people who love one another and those people owe it to themselves and their spouse to try to fix problems in their marriage.

And more often then not the problems can't be fixed. No matter what this person needs to speak to an attorney to protect themselves. If there is any hope the person can do that afterwards. He has his credit to try to save.
 
It is possible that the college he is attending has some type of legal aid support for students....call and ask. If not, call the bar association and ask for help. NOW! it never hurts to have information. And call an accountant or credit bureau and ask about closing credit card accounts, moving funds out of joint bank accounts (not closing the accounts, but some of the money).
 
And more often then not the problems can't be fixed. ...
I'd love to know where to find data to suppot this. I find it hard to believe that the majority of couples who make an honest attempt to save their marriages fail.
 

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