Greetings -
Some background:
-I'm an American man, living in America.
-My wife of seven years is Japanese, and has been living in America for about 22 years.
- My wife recently became a US citizen.
-My in-laws live in Japan and are retired. My sister-in-law (SIL) is a high-functioning autistic who lives with them.
My wife is close to my MIL and SIL, but my father-in law (FIL) has been a jerk all her life, and his demeanor is getting worse in his old age. For a long time now he has been controlling and verbally abusive. More importantly, he has recently become physically violent. My MIL has told my wife that she would like to leave him (and take my SIL with her), but she lacks the resources to do so and also the ability to even safely investigate her options without fear of reprisal. My FIL handles the finances in the household, and they live in a rather rural village. If she initiates divorce proceedings, it's not at all clear what the outcome might be.
Bottom line? My wife and I are attempting to investigate all the potential outcomes for her, determining how we might help my MIL handle each one, up to and including the possibility of being physically present to protect her and my SIL while they leave the house, and paying for safe haven for them elsewhere in Japan while divorce proceedings play out.
To that end, our next step is to contact a divorce laywer in Japan to see what the potential outcomes might be (most critical: could the court system force my FIL to reveal all financial assets, and could those assets then be split between FIL and MIL). But we're at a loss as to how to locate a divorce lawyer.
So there (finally) is my question:
How can we locate a reputable divorce lawyer in Japan with whom we might discuss this whole situation over the phone?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Some background:
-I'm an American man, living in America.
-My wife of seven years is Japanese, and has been living in America for about 22 years.
- My wife recently became a US citizen.
-My in-laws live in Japan and are retired. My sister-in-law (SIL) is a high-functioning autistic who lives with them.
My wife is close to my MIL and SIL, but my father-in law (FIL) has been a jerk all her life, and his demeanor is getting worse in his old age. For a long time now he has been controlling and verbally abusive. More importantly, he has recently become physically violent. My MIL has told my wife that she would like to leave him (and take my SIL with her), but she lacks the resources to do so and also the ability to even safely investigate her options without fear of reprisal. My FIL handles the finances in the household, and they live in a rather rural village. If she initiates divorce proceedings, it's not at all clear what the outcome might be.
Bottom line? My wife and I are attempting to investigate all the potential outcomes for her, determining how we might help my MIL handle each one, up to and including the possibility of being physically present to protect her and my SIL while they leave the house, and paying for safe haven for them elsewhere in Japan while divorce proceedings play out.
To that end, our next step is to contact a divorce laywer in Japan to see what the potential outcomes might be (most critical: could the court system force my FIL to reveal all financial assets, and could those assets then be split between FIL and MIL). But we're at a loss as to how to locate a divorce lawyer.
So there (finally) is my question:
How can we locate a reputable divorce lawyer in Japan with whom we might discuss this whole situation over the phone?
Thanks for any help you can provide.