How can a wife protect herself financially from a husband who is an active alcoholic and drives drunk without getting a divorce?

You can file for Separate Support, where you are living separate and have a Separation Agreement but are not officially divorced. This will not entirely protect you if damage is done. In the interim, if you want to stay together, get a lot of insurance. I would suggest consulting with a family law attorney in the Worcester area. Jessica

In order to assess your financial exposure for conduct of your husband there will need to be a review of all assets of you and your husband to determine what belongs to each and what is jointly owned. There are some protections for non-debtor spouses. One such step to take is to be sure that there is a Homestead filed on your home. Speaking to an attorney about your specific situation is the only way to determine how your husbands actions may impact you and your family. DISCLAIMER: This answer is provided in response to a "hypothetical" question and provided for general, informational purposes and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The information presented is not legal advice and may change based additional information and research. It is recommended that you speak to an attorney to discuss your specific legal issues.

Get the house in your name and get the car out of your name. Keep your own insurance. Same thing with bank accounts. Do not co-mingle your funds. Even then they can try to make claim against your insurance. Also get an umbrella policy and maximize your car insurance coverage (his too). Then keep talking to him about AA and getting sober. You need to get into therapy also to deal with the issues alcohol introduces into a relationship. Good luck. NOTE: This answer is made available by the lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney that practices in the subject practice discipline and with whom you have an atttorney client relationship along with all the privileges that relationship provides. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance described in the question.