Yesterday was the last hearing, the judge made the final rulings regarding property division, debts and so on... I have the most profound feeling/ conviction that the ruling wasn't ''equitable'' at all... I was made to pay for some things that I consider were totally unacceptable: a debt incurred by my ex under fraud (a second mortgage on the house without my knowledge or approval), and the principal paid by him while I lived at the house after he left (more than $10,000)... If I had known this, I have asked for selling the house immediately after he left! It's like I paid a late ''rent''! And the document drawn establishing the conditions under which he was paying for temporary alimony and so, made VERY CLEAR that he was responsible for everything pertaining to the house (mortgage, insurance, bills)! Let's see, I got permanent alimony (28 years of marriage) at a rate of way less than the 30% mentioned by someone in this forum... I don't know what to think: how the law and the rulings are supposed to protect a little the lifestyle acquired at the point of divorce? This is not what I'm experiencing right now. I confided a lot in the professionals that counseled me: 'Don't worry, you are going to get a good alimony, you can travel, do your thing, he's going to pay...' And in the end, he got MORE money than me after selling the house! Popular culture got it totally wrong with the idea that the law protects the less able/ favorable party! I'm in the position to begin from ZERO to look for a job, minimal experience (only five years working as a part time), displaced (moved to another city where I don't know anyone), with no network of professional contacts... all the while he has his very important post (Department chair), his professional and social standings untouched, already bought a smaller house for himself, a car... This picture is completely WRONG, people! And I keep thinking what happened, why, and so on... I loved him and supported him to the best of my abilities, both of us highly educated people, looking forward to the next phase in life... that he decided he should go on ALONE. I never saw it coming, never had an inkling about his unhappiness or whatever so much so that the first time the word ''separation'' came out his mouth, that was it, there was not turning back. And he kept marching on with his professional plans like nothing happened, asking for the divorce almost to the month after leaving the house... Of course, try to explain all of this to your family back in your home country: for them, it's impossible to understand or comprehend... The kind of money juggling I had to do to move, pay rent deposit and so on, I couldn't have done it without my daughters lending money to me! And I was ordered to return the money I asked him for paying ONE MONTH RENT! My head is yet spinning under the unfairness of the whole process and I'm not going to mention the kind of lows I was delivered during the hearing... I need objective views about this, people. And for that, my very big thanks in advance.