It's been a long, strange trip to this point, but most of it is irrelevant to this question.

My stbxw makes about four times what I do. She's closed our joint account and hidden every facet of her finances from me.

Meanwhile I have some big bills for debts I took on when we were together. Two cars whose loans are only in my name and around 20k in credit cards to fix up our house for sale. I cannot cover all of that on my own. No damn way. I've tried the free consultations but all of them have just been short intake Interviews with an admin assistant. If anyone familiar with Washington law can tell me, I need to know what-all I can stipulate if I file for legal separation. I need a way to compel her to A: give me enough to pay all the bills and B: Contribute a significant sum toward the renovations necessary to sell our house. When I say 'necessary' I mean it. My real estate agent friend says no bank would lend on the place as-is. There's no kitchen and no flooring on the main level. If filing for legal separation cannot get me what I need, then I'd be pointlessly antagonizing her. If I take this step I need to know if it will work.

Does anyone here have experience with spousal maintenance and forced involvement with home repair?