Legal Aid said no & a lawyer says i dont have enough money

[blindsided]

Wow am i in a pickle!.

Well i went to legal aid yesterday,they said my income is ok to get legal aid but because i own house dont look good. She said i have a lot of issues and that she didnt think that legal aid would do good for me,because they are limited on what they would or could do, and that if i went to the financail office for legal aid they would decide,but that being said,she said if they would take me, they would put a lien on the house. So she told me to go see a lawyer, so i did he felt bad but said that i dont have the money to get a lawyer.

He suggested i go to chapters and buy a seperation agreement kit, so off i go to chapters and of course must be that time of year all 8 or so chapters in ottawa are sold out.

Things only get worse my cell gets cut off because ex didnt pay cell,which he is tied to a 3 year contract, he gets another one instead of paying bill. I call him once to tell him to cancel visa, ya he puts balance on line of credit and charges 200 to it. I phoned to make sure im not responsable for it,(visa) and im not anyway, he changed his cell number again, oh and didnt put any money in for mortage.

What can i do im living tight, but dont want to lose house, we still need somewhere to live, i would be paying more to rent.

Any suggestions, thanks

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

Void any details on the relationship, it is hard to offer advice.
Were you Cl or legally married, and for how long, and are there any children involved?

[blindsided]

Void any details on the relationship, it is hard to offer advice.
Were you Cl or legally married, and for how long, and are there any children involved?

We were married 14 years, living together for22 years have 2 boys 18 year old goes to college, 19 years old works parttime, both live at home with me.

[littleman]

is it amicable (as much as that can be)? or animosity going back and forth? issues with property split, custody? if none of those apply self represent.......

[blindsided]

is it amicable (as much as that can be)? or animosity going back and forth? issues with property split, custody? if none of those apply self represent.......

Funny you should ask, thats the way he said he wanted to be (amicable) but will not talk to me at all tried talking to him the other week,then he changed his phone number, animosity to him,cause he left for another woman co-worker,which is still with her husband.

As to property split he said when he left he would sign it to me just to leave him alone,sad thing is i put 30 thousand down on house in 07 from a private ins buy out,now on cpp disability only recieving 500. a month im forced to get some kind of training, so i can hopfuly find some work,that i can handle doing so i can survive.

So he was to put money in for mortage last week he didnt so now it looks like me and my boys are on our own now.

Things dont look good i will have mortage utils and oh ya the line of credit i can only afford to pay the intrest on it. I really got screwed all round.

Wish there was a lawyer that would do pro bono in Ottawa.

[logicalvelocity]

To avoid, a lien on your home from legal aid or a line a credit secured against you home to pay for independant Lawyer -- Why not go self rep if the circumstances cannot be resolved in an amicable fashion.

[littleman]

blindsided.........I understand the hurt and household turmoil you are going through but as LV stated self represent..........if you have the strength and the determination it honestly can be accomplished. You will need to excercise an over abundance of patience and the best I have ever heard is smile & nod.......meaning do not give in to any confrontation (whereas regretful things can and will be said in the heat of an argument-these regretful things can be brought up to a judge.....best wayt o communicate is through written sources emails, etc)
My personal opinion would be to tackle the marriage breakdown then custody (if its an issue) after that.........
for the property you could sell it or rent out a room.....he left the property to you but until he signs it over you cannot put it up for sale ( you need his written consent if his name is on mortgage or the deed)...keep us up to date

[blindsided]

Can anyone help point me in the right direction,on where to start or what to do,to self rep?

Need to get things going before i lose everything.
thanks

[logicalvelocity]

This might be a good way to start. A good read is the Family Law Rules with respect to court processes and procedures. The government is actually encouraging self reps as summarizing guides can be found here:

Ministry of the Attorney General - A Guide to Family Procedures in the Superior Court of Justice


Relevant and associated Family Court forms can be found here:

Family Law Rules Forms — Ontario Court Services


lv

[Kimberley]

I am self-rep and I can tell you there is quite a bit of information available online. With respect to the forms in LV's 2nd link - choose the word document forms (if you have the option) as these are fillable forms and allow you to submit clear & neat documents.

[logicalvelocity]

As AK mentioned, Word doc format is the way to go. If you don't have MS word installed the word doc forms are also compatible with Open Office which is a free office suite download.


www: OpenOffice.org - The Free and Open Productivity Suite

[blindsided]

wow, im really seeing his true colors now, have to wonder how i put up with that for 22 years?

I talked to him the other day asked why he didnt put any money in bank,hes answer was he has to live, well he makes 30 thousand a year pays his friend 400. month for rent, and has no other expenses, oh execept his two credit cards (mr i want i buy). So anyway im left with mortage,utils,food for kids,oh ya line of credit he hasnt put a dime on.

So i wrote up my own separation agreement, because the other day when i talked to him, he said he would sign over the house but he wouldnt give me any money,(ss) he said that was my own problem. i only make around 10 thousand a year (disability) and i just started working a few hours a week. Starting to feel better about myself. Nice to come home and not worry what mood someone is in.

Anyway in it i basicly only put that i get contents of house, and that he would sign over house to me, that i wouldnt split sale of house if it had to be sold, he gets no equity of the house.

car because i am the the one paying the line of credit, not only that, he did tell my son he gave it to him(but the other day he says he will take it back and sell it, dont want that because i know he wouldnt put the money on the line of credit he would keep the money.(car balance is on the line of credit).

So with that being said, does that mean thats the end of everything? or if im in need can i get ss if need be?

[singledad99]

Separation agreement won't help you much as it didn't help me. There are things about the law that I learn everyday and feel like I didn't know anything before that.

If you read my posts of couple of weeks ago when I signed final agreement with my ex. Both parties had their lawyers present. Guess what, that agreement too could not help me. I had to agree to amend the agreement because her lawyer won't cooperate with transfer of the title to my name unless I gave more money. My other option was to go to court and try to enforce it through them. It would cost me more money to do this and still there was no guarantee that I would win.

In family law the party who is motivated to settle things loses.(based on my experience). The party who is unmotivated does not care how long it takes and how much it costs them or you. My ex put a lien on the house to get legal aid financing. She is not afraid if she lost everything, including my share, to legal aid because she just wants to destroy me (and her own son in that whole fight). You are indeed in a pickle because if you push your ex too much, he might just do the same thing as my ex did.

I am thinking of a different direction for you. Instead of getting all caught up in separation agreement and court papers, why not do one thing at a time. I would start with going to a real estate lawyer and getting the house transferred to my name. Nice and easy. He already agrees to that and might just sign it. Then split other assets/liabilities in a similar fashion. Once you have that part settled then go self representing and ask for CS and SS. Based on your story you don't need a lawyer to get CS and SS.

[blindsided]

If i see a real estate lawyer, what kind of expense am i looking at? Do they deal with the bank as well? or if he goes with me to real estate lawyer with me and he signs it over and thats it?
right now im worried the bank will say no to me being on my own now.And (my income only being about 10 grand) mortage is 12hundred with proprty tax included).Mind you hes been gone 5 months and i havent defaulted on my morgage.
But i am renting out room to niece for 400. a month,400 more then he is putting in.

I am going to be going back to school for training to better myself.i have been out of work place for about 11 years.

[singledad99]

The real estate lawyers expenses, you have to pay no matter what. According to my real estate lawyer, since I am in the title transfer process myself, they have to do the same paperwork as if I am buying a new property and expenses like title search/insurance, mortgage discharge and refinancing etc. If you called a real estate lawyer's office, they will give you a quote of expenses.

For mortgage, you have to arrange it yourself and the lawyer will do the rest. You may want to go through those mortgage brokers as they can find you ways to refinance the mortgage. Tell them to count the rental income as well when calculating your eligibility. Maybe rent some more space or basement to increase your potential. Get some guarantors (parents, friends) to strengthen your application. The mortgage brokers work for you (unlike banks) so they try their best to get you approved.