Do I need a lawyer for French divorce?
I'm an Aussie and id thought I was happily married for 14 years to a French woman. About three years ago my wife got really sick, she got covid then shingles and it buckled her. Our house was SO mouldy too. Suddenly literally anything I asked her was wrong.
We bought a property, it was very undervalued but had some strings attached. A long term friend owns it, he sold it for a third of the price in exchange for being able to live there till he dies. It's 74ha property and he wanted to pay off debts and potter in his garden. Hed just had a stroke and wanted the property to goto someone who would look after it. I worked there 20 years ago so id planted a lot of the garden's.
Her family is extremely wealthy so they gave her a million, i had a business about to start so everything was looking good.
We plonk down a cabin and I head overseas for work. She was sending me updates of all the things she was building and her health.was coming back. The colour was coming back to her facd and i was watching her come back to life. I come back for a break and it's like she hated me. She went to france to visit her mum when I got back.
So I went back overseas to work, we owe a lot of money. She goes back to Australia and starts being nice again trying to get me to come back. I asked her about the last time I came back and she tells me we're getting divorced. No counselling, won't give me a reason, she's leaving. I actually thought she was joking at first, that's how blindsided I was. She told s mutual friend she hasn't loved me for years.
She took all our asserts and even sold the car abd went to France. She didnt need the money, her parents have picassos hanging on the walls. I'm stuck overseas drowning in debt (She only paid the deposit, not the full million).
Then the stories started filtering through to me (I work in a remote area). I had abused her, I had abandoned her, I had dumped all responsibilities on her, she didn't know where I was, I was with her for her money (whilst simultaneously working too much). I thought that she was having a psychotic episode or something as none of these are even remotely true. A couple weeks ago my business partner told me that there was a law in France that said your partner had to "service" you whenever you like. I went to prove him wrong and found the French civil code. ALL the things she said were in there.
I trusted her completely, everything I owned was in her name, I got a vasectomy for her after her mum had a stroke. She didnt want kids and i was ambivalent. We waited 6 months after she stopped the pill in case she changed ger mind (thus part occurred in her timeline of not loving me). I once got a cheque for $200k and put it into her bank account, i trusted her completely. I used to wake up every morning and think how lucky I was.
She obviously hates me, i have no idea why.
Would she be getting ready to try get alimony on top of everything? She's never had a job as her parents pay her a yearly stipend. It doesn't even cover the rent. Its like she waited for the opportune moment to inflict maximum damage on me and has set up to continue this for a slight I don't even know I committed.
We were married in Canada and had a prenup done there, so I'm pretty sure this isn't about assetts. Then we lived in Australia. Shes gone to live in France. She thinks she's signed her way out of the property purchase but doesnt understand Australia has verbal contract law.
I'm so emotionally broken and have been working every day just to pay the interest. Of all the things i planned for going wrong, this wasnt even on the list.
Her parents are both lawyers to top it off. She's gone completely no contact. What do I do?