Hi, Is there anyone out there who is or has studied divorce law, and is willing to provide free advice?

Hi, I have been living with my partner for several years. He has been divorced for several years as well. We had dated, before we bought our house. My partner had ensured me that he was in the process of getting a divorce. It has been several years now, with one excuse after another. I do love him, which is why I am sticking around, but I also let it be known that I have been more then patient and am very uncomfortable of our living arrangement. i.e I find myself unable to plan forward. He keeps telling me that when one is seperated as long as he has been it is like a divorce. I told him that is not true because he can not marry me right now. I now wonder if I need to protect myself. i do have more information but will provide that individually. Mature replys only. Thank you! First, let me thank you all for your answers, everyone of them were helpful. I just wanted to add...He has been legally seperated for about 8 years. He is presently speaking to a lawyer regarding the divorce. You are all right, I do need to think smart about this, I guess I just had to hear it from someone else. And, yes! I will seek out a lawyer for further advice. At first I was worried about the cost...but now I am thinking I probably can lose more if I don't speak with a lawyer. Oh! by the way, I found out two years ago that he was still paying half the mortgage to the house he and his wife lived in. He said he needs to do this until the divorce is final. Once again thank you for feedback. Hi, just read my first entry. Sorry for the confusion. I was quite tired when I posted my question. My partner has been legally seperated for 8 years. Before I bought the house I did speak to a lawyer. I was told that my partner is legally seperated and that whatever he purchase after the seperation his wife would not be entitled to. It is just that I am having second thoughts about the answer I received. By the way I was not posting this question to be answered by 14 year olds. I did request mature replys only.

Public Comments

1. Try the Yellow pages of your phone book or visit your local court house to see if they have free advice council during certian days of the week, there should be something avalible for you in your local town. Dont trust some random person on Yahoo Answers to be telling you the truth
2. Can you provide more information? What specifically do you want to have answered? He cannot be divorced and in the process of being divorced. It is one or the other.
3. Free legal advice call your local bar association and get the number of legal aid as well. Some attorneys will work; pro bono. Offhand, separation is NOTHING like divorce and he is using you and has no intention of leaving his wife...several years is your answer.
4. You need to start protecting yourself and separating your assets. You should not have bought the house before he was not divorced. It is very possible (and contact a lawyer about this) that the house can be considered community property within his marriage and may not be legally separated. Your life is in limbo because this person cant make up his mind.
5. Depending on the laws of your State, You and he cannot but in light of your state of cohabitation have certain responsibilities to the other as in that even though you are not married , there is still the rules of cohabitation and they apply to you and he. It is not necessary for there to be a state of marriage for the responsibility of cohabitation to exist so in essence you are entitled to half of what you and he have accumulated and will be divided by the court accordingly. If he is telling you that the separation is like a divorce, he has obviously insulted your intellingence. Unless she is declared legally dead after seven years of being missing, they are still married as much as the first day they exchanged vows. Additionally, during the divorce, if that is what he decides to do and their is no legal documents for separation , his wife will be entitled to half of his half of your cohabitation. I would seek legal advice, check into the laws of your state as they apply to marriage and cohabitation and life partners and that can be done on the internet. Look up the laws by searching codes and statutes of your state and they will let you search a secondary time for those that apply to your situation. Be smart and know what laws apply to you but more important be smart about the laws that apply to him and his wife as they will affect you also. If he questions what you find, take steps or legal action to protect your interests from the ugliness of divorce and to keep you from losing at his stupidity. He, obviously has not thought this beyond his own comfort and enjoyment but your life is important and it is plainly evident that he is not taking your well being into consideration during his state of stupidity. Don't be a victim of ignorance, find the laws, take necessary action and let him determine his own destiny as he cannot possibly be thinking of yours except in his own best interest. Good luck but don't be a victim, take care of yourself, protect yourself and make your own decisions until he get educated about the important things in life and you should be the most important thing in his life as his partner. If not you need to rethink your position and your choice of partner based on qualification and your number in his list of priorities. You should be number one, and it does not appear that is so. Are you willing to be out of the top ten when you should be number one? Good luck and God bless you. The right is not always what we want or the easiest but it will keep the rest of the things in life where they are supposed to be. Avoid suprises and build yourself some security as it is obviously not his top proiority.
6. What is your question? Write me.
7. Honey, he is committing adultery with you, because he is still married. You need to respect yourself and get out of that relationship.
8. You're confusing---first you indicate that your partner has been divorced several years, then you indicate that he assured you that he was in the process of getting a divorce. Which is it??? I'm assuming that you've been living with a married man, which means that not only don't you have legal rights, but you actually may loose some money. If you purchased a home with a married man, then his wife may be entitled to half of that property as it would be considered "marital property." You are a fool for living with a married man and an even greater fool for making a major purchase with a married man. You stand to loose quite a bit. I'm not sure, why on earth you would even consider seeking legal advice from 14 year old children on Yahoo. If you are incapable of seeking the advice of a legal specialist in your area, perhaps you should consider seeking some psychiatric help as your decision making is EXTREMELY, extremely poor.
9. Hi, thanks for the added info, it helped. :) Well, I have a friend who is in a similar position as you. And, by the way this is the place where you can ask questions, I believe that this is why there is a place called (yahoo answer). All I can say is always get a second opinion. Speak to another lawyer. You are on the right track because you are now taking actions. My friend was also told by her man that he was in the works of a divorce. He had been legally separated for 3 years and has been dating my friend for 2 years. She is still waiting for the divorce. I boil this down to you cannot trust when someone tells you he or she is going to divorce. You need to wait and see. All the best!