I am so sorry for your situation.  Generally speaking, a husband has an obligation to support a wife  - and a wife has an obligation to support a husband - until the judgement of divorce is signed.  So the answer to your question is yes, the state would not allow her to go on welfare or medicaid or supply any other services to her if you are still married.  I would speak with an attorney in your area on the particulars of the matter as soon as you can.  If she is going to be going on disability it is probably not a lot of money and I bet that you are going to have to pay some form of spousal maintenance if there are not sufficient assets to support her.  This is really worth a consultation fee.