Can’t Find My Husband To Divorce Him

Location: North Carolina

Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance and clarity. I live in North Carolina (I’m 30), and my husband lives in Illinois (he’s 32). We were married in Illinois back in 2014, and later moved to North Carolina for his military enlistment. About three years ago, he completely abandoned me. He left for about six months, came back for just a few days, and then disappeared again — and he’s been gone ever since. We’re still legally married. He has me blocked on everything, and I haven’t been able to reach him. When he was struggling with cancer and later substance abuse, I stood by him. We sold our home, split the money — some went into my account, some into his — and I found us an apartment. But he never added himself to the lease, and then he left again. He’s now fully retired from the military and still receives both his retirement pay and Social Security. I’m still listed as his dependent, so he continues to get extra money each month (around $500+), but I receive nothing. I recently lost my job and have tried reaching out to him for help, especially since he’s still collecting that dependent pay because we’re technically married — but I haven’t heard a word from him. He did help with some money early on, but that stopped long ago. I don’t even know where to start with this. How do I begin the process of handling this legally? And is there any chance I can access or claim the funds he’s been receiving for me as a dependent? Any advice or direction would mean so much right now.