I'm sorry you are still dealing with this. I did find (my opinion only) that the attorneys I dealt with in family law, on my side and his, were pretty incompetent (with his being absolutely the worst). My best friend, a family law attorney in another state, has told me that she sees the same poor lawyering where she is. Where I was the judges rotate in, often having no family law experience. As a result, I decided to cut my losses and get out rather than deal with the crapshoot and expense that going forward represented. I had to give up my expectation of what I thought a fair result was and walk away from something I believed was a necessity in the interest of being done. It all worked out in the end. The assets I did leave with have shot through the roof, I've had a very good year at work, and knowing that I am done for good has brought me more peace than I could ever explain.
My house now, half the size of my last, by far the most modest I've owned in a long, long time, is my favorite house I've ever lived in. In the face of the fear I felt at going forward, my best friend reminded me that I have always succeeded, supported myself, and made things happen and that nothing has changed that. She asked me to bet on my own future rather than tie myself in any way to his. I do wonder what might happen for you if you could let go of your need to keep the house, let it be sold, give him his half so you could get this done and finally move forward without that dead body shackled to you. If you have never read McTeague (the best novel ever written), then please do. When you come to the part in the desert, give it some thought.
