Domestic abuse separation involving house + cars
Coming here because I really don’t know what else to do. My mother has gotten out of a (mostly verbally) abusive relationship a few months ago. They owned a house together (still being paid off) and 2 cars. They were defacto. My mums recently become disabled to the point where she cannot work, but prior to this she always made more money than him. When they split, they both had basically no liquid money. Since my mum had no income and it took her awhile to get on Centrelink, she’s been struggling with bills that he isn’t paying his share of, I’ve payed for her and her pets food, etc. he still has his income but also his mummy pays for whatever he wants (like lawyers and a new car when he broke his, which he now wants my mum to pay for). Originally he agreed to just do mediation with my mum, she spent months hurting herself to get the house clean and I’ve helped her with packing and dump runs. He’s done nothing, he left his stuff there when he went because she got a dvo put on him and he knew he’d break it if he stayed. After months of him ignoring her messages asking for help she gets a message from his lawyer, asking about assets and transaction history and giving her a week to try and list the house for sale (there are repairs that need to be done but this has just forced her to rush into valuations losing them both money).
Now comes the question. My mum has called a lot of lawyers and tried to get legal aid but it was all denied. She has no money. I can’t afford lawyers. So is this just how it is? Does she have to go into the mediation, which she already can’t pay for, with no lawyer? Does he just get to walk all over her because his mother pays for everything? Does the domestic abuser always win if they have money in Aus?