Had a love marriage 5 years back after a long-distance courtship of 1year, only to realise that I was married to a compulsive alcoholic with an equally complex personality. In the last 5 years we have done nothing but fight, fight and fight due to his alcoholism..however, neither is he willing to go to into therapy, nor does he accept that he is addicted. This has caused the families to breakup, he lost his job, and also incurred a lot of liabilities. He has not been working for the last 2 years and I have been supporting all his bills. I work in the Private sector and earn fairly well, but my bank balance is almost nil bearing my own and my husband's expenses. His drinking has not gone down and no matter what, he drinks and lies and drinks and makes false promises only to break them again. I've finally decided to separate and want to know:
1. How do I claim for all the money I spent for him? I cannot claim for the mental harassment I underwent because of him, but getting back what I spent is the least I can expect..
2. Can I get him to sign an indemnity stating that I am not responsible for any liabilities that he has incurred..lest he defaults on payments and the creditors land at my house?
3. In case he refuses to give me something in writing, how do I safeguard myself from the above? Do I need to make some public declaration in a newspaper or magazine stating that I am not responsible for any of his liabilities?
4. Do I really need to take a divorce, else it would suffice if we just separate and live our lives? I do not want to get into any legal hassles over this..
Please let me know..I'm heartbroken, harassed and really really sad.