Heather, Stop thinking that way! The battle is on and you can't go in feeling defeated before you even get to court. Your lawyer shouldn't be scared at all because he sees this stuff each and every day. Having witnesses come forward is nothing new in some divorce cases. You have your oldest daughter, neighbors and homeschooling parents that can vouch for you and if absolutely necessary your mother and father. You are not the one who walked away and left your children. You are the one that scrimped and fretted over how you were going to pay your bills. You are the one that was left w/it all to deal with. Bottom line, you need to get angry and I mean good and angry...you are not a victim. You are a survivor who has done nothing but try to hold it together while he left and lived the good life for almost 2 years.
As for the tools, how can he file a contempt? You weren't divorced and certainly not legally separated. The tools were marital property from where I'm sitting, since they were purchased during the marriage. What about what he did w/his retirement when he left his old job? Didn't he take a trip and drop $3,000 down to pay off his truck? He did all of that after he left. He left, he established a new residence, he had a new bank account and new address...he had ample time to get his tools within the 2 year time frame. This will all need to be revealed, but a contempt charge? You weren't given any kind of legal notice of what he wanted or what not to do. Look up contempt and you will see that you've not been disrespectful in a court of law, you have not disobeyed any order or law that has been presented to you, etc. So, that to me, is a scare tactic. It's bs. Your lawyer should know this.
Contact your friends and family now and get them on board to go to court w/you. You do not want to go there by yourself. You will need support in your corner. My first meeting at the court house, I was not advised that my xh as going to bring a witness. I was told by my attorney to have someone present who could validate some info for me. Because this is a preliminary hearing, the lawyers may not be obligated to notify each other of potential witnesses being present at this time. (Not trying to dispute what Life Twists indicated, just in my state it's not necessary unless there is a trial taking place.)
It's going to be okay. It's time to get this settled and if December 15th is the date to do it, then so be it. At least this part of the process will have been completed and you'll know what will be expected of not only you, but him as well.
