How doI go about seeking spousal support?
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How doI go about seeking spousal support?
My husband and I have been married for 6 years. We had a great loving relationship until his parents came to the US 7 months ago. They told me their only reason fir having us marry was to get the family over here. Now they want to take their son and get him remarried. I don’t want to divorce my husband but he left me with the house. I cannot afford it as I am disabled and cannot work. I need to file for alimony.
Asked on June 29, 2011 under Family Law, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You can file an Order to Show Cause (OSC) court form requesting spousal support. When you file the OSC, the court will set a date for a hearing on this issue. With the OSC, you should also file a declaration signed under penalty of perjury setting forth the facts supporting your claim for spousal support. Attach a proof of service to the documents and file OSC, declaration and proof of service with the court. The proof of service verifies the date of mailing the documents to your husband. You can either use a court form proof of service or you can write your own. If you write your own proof of service, it just says that you are over 18 and the attached documents were sent via first class mail unless specified otherwise to ___________ (name and address of husband) on _______ (date). You sign and date the proof of service at the bottom under penalty of perjury. The date you sign the proof of service should be the same date as the date of mailing and the date you file it with the court.
If you don't know your husband's whereabouts, he can be served with the documents by publication. Service by publication is running the notice in the legal notices section of the newspaper for a specified amount of time. The court clerk can tell you the amount of time that is required for effective service by publication. Even if your husband does not see the notice in the newspaper, it is still effective service by publication.
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