I fought tooth and nail with a smart attorney for everything that was rightfully mine and for my child. he bickered and dragged his feet. The judge saw through this and he was ordered to pay all my attorney fees. (3 years worth). i rec'd 50% of the house which was sold, all the contents (which i sold). Custody payments were paid directly through garnishment of his paycheck.
He cleaned out any joint accounts long before, so i took that hit.
when it was all said and done, he died living at his mother's house at age 54, alcohol related cardiac problems, he stopped working in 2001, spent his daughter's college fund, she now has student loans. he left a huge mess and no will. We have one child, she had to clean it up, finding out he did not pay taxes, had an IRS lein on one property, uncashed stock dividend checks totaling over 20K, another house in disrepair and scores of other issues.