My girlfriend is married to a guy that is in prison in New York state for child molestation. He will be there if not for the rest of, the better part of his natural life. As a result of this marriage they have a 12 yr. old child together. He has no contact with the child and as a result of his sentence can not have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. She has not had any contact with him for eleven years. He pays no child or spousal support. We wish of course to proceed with a divorce so that our relationship may take it's natural progression. She says she did investigate, through legal aid, a divorce some years ago and was told She would have to pay for his attorney. Due to her and my financial situations, a large and expensive divorce might be difficult to secure. Our questions are, is She responsible for paying for his legal counsel? Can the divorce be pursued exclusively in the state of Iowa. She wants no contact with him for herself and the child. No financial support of any kind. Just wants to be rid of him so She and her child can go on with their lives. What are Her/our options? How much could something like this cost. No property is involved and the only issue we can think of is his parental rights which we wish to have terminated if they are not already as a result of his conviction and subsequent prison sentence

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