Weird Divorce

[aelsayed77]

Hi, I have a very unusual situation to deal with. To make my story short, I met a guy last aug. 2002 and we got married April 3, 2003, in the middle east while I was working there. He went back to his home in California to prepare for my moving there which would have been May 3rd, 2003 after I had gotten a chance to clear up everything behind me where I was living and gotten a chance to visit my family before I left to live with him. Anyhow, We had planned to have a wedding for family and friends because we didn't have one in the ME, on the 16th of May. I'm a canadian citizen, so when crossing the border they returned me a number of times because I needed a K1 visa. Anyhow, we were told by an immigration lawyer here in Canada that we would have to get married in Canada again, to be able to cross the border, therefore we were again married in Canada on the 6th of May, 2003. I left my family with my husband on the 7th of May and we finally got across the border the next day and reached California the same day. Two days later, in Sacramento where my husbands' home was and my home to be was, he blantantly told me that it wasn't going to work anymore and that he was not attracted to me. So he bought a ticket for me to go back to my family in Canada the very next day and gave me some money which I refused to take out of pride and he sent me off like I was a mail-in order he didn't want anymore. Needless to say I have suffered a major loss, emotionally and mentally. I was extremely shocked because there was no indication that he was having problems. Not to mention the financial loss by leaving my job and remaining without income for so long. He has filed for dissolution of marriage in California and I consulted a lawyer in Canada where I am residing now and this lawyer informed me that he was unaware of California family law and didn't know what my rights were. I am hoping that I could find the proper advice from a lawyer on this forum because since I left my job for my husband in the ME, and I have no income I cannot afford any lawyer fees. I would like to know what my rights are. I understand that the length of my marriage was short but I'm still hoping that I might have some rights under California law. Please get back to me.
My email address is aelsayed77@hotmail.com.

Thank-you very much.

Aly

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I am truly sorry to hear about your difficult times.

To begin, what information should we know about your current husband? What nationality is he and what basis does he have for being in the US?

 

[aelsayed77]

Thank-you for replying.
He's a US citizen. He lives in Sacramento and has lived there for the past few years. He owns 2 wine specialty stores. There isn't much to know other then that really.

It's been a while now so I feel much better thanks.

Aly

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Originally posted by aelsayed77:
Thank-you for replying.
He's a US citizen. He lives in Sacramento and has lived there for the past few years. He owns 2 wine specialty stores. There isn't much to know other then that really.

It's been a while now so I feel much better thanks.

Ownership of property might afford you with the ability to enlist the aid of a CA lawyer in order to extract a settlement. If his business is going well, and it seems it is, when there is money there is willingness to take some cases on contingency. CA is an interesting state with regard to going your separate ways (see "palimony") and you might be able to obtain a favorable settlement. He may not be off the hook as he would like to think. "Dissolution of marriage" -- I'm assuming you mean divorce/