[lrjohnson]

It seems like the divorce annulment is defintely out the window, but just in case....

It won't help in getting aid. I work in public assistance. We look at all parents of an aided child who are in the home. In some states some two parent families can't get cash aid at all (no "deprived" child); in California we aid two parent families, but the income of all parents of aided children counts, regardless of marital status. In Food Stamps, you will all be counted as in the same household-unmarrried parternes can claim they they purchase and prepare (P&)separately, however parents can't P&P separately from their child, therefore parents are linked and in the same household.

In cash aid, if a parent claims to be outside the home, child support is aggresively pursued by the State.

In California, there are some Medi-Cal (Medicaid) rules that can have the effect of disadvantaging married versus unmarried persons; however it doesn't seem like medical assistance is what you are worried about, and the rules don't hurt all married couples.

If you post more budget details, we can help in other ways.