who stays, who goes

for the past few years my husband wasnt helping financially with bills or with the kids which left me burying myself in debt. i found myself charging everything from groceries, gas in the car, kids school supplies, kids clothing, holidays, birthdays, car repairs, you name it... he was always going out and spending all his money on himself, buying expensive golf clubs, golfing all the time, taking little getaways with his friends, always eating out and drinking with the guys etc until i finally had enough of his selfish immature ways.. my question is .. if the wife is in alot of debt and the husband is in better financial shape, will the courts usually let the wife get the house? he's trying to use my financial situation against me now saying im irresponsible with money and trying to fight me for the kids and house. its all his fault im in all this debt! hes just mad because i didnt want to let him keep using me or put up with his crap anymore ending his "free ride" .. he has good credit and can get a house tomorrow if he wanted but is trying to fight me for this one just to be malicious since he knows i would have no where else to go with my bad credit. he basically threatened me i would end up with nothing if i went through with the divorce and is pulling out every vicious tactic to get his way. what should i do? my attorney isnt doing anything to stop it neither is the court system. i cant believe this is happening.

[mgbcarter]

I went through much the same thing and am now getting full custody of my kids after having shared custody. My absolute best advice, and it is hard to do, is keep your emotions out of this and realize these things sometime take time. Judges and Attorneys hear this "she said...he said" stuff all the time and it goes in one ear and out the other. What you have to do is stick to facts, verifiable facts. Find as many receipts, credit card bils, statements, work pay stubs, proof that he was at golf courses, etc. etc. and get a file together that is easily readable and supports your assertions. Keep the "he's mean" and peripheral stuff out of it. FACTS!! And this is best done while he is still around and doing what you say he is doing. Keep your emotions in check and compile the file without his knowledge. Once you or he leave it is hard to obtain that sort of info.
Trust me, when you go to court and one party spouts off and one has factual documentation the judges pay attention to you. Good Luck, M.

If you are married, your debts are mutual as far as divorce proceedings go. He will be responsible for half.
Bring some receipts for clothing and such to demonstrate that the credit card debt was incurred in caring for the children.