I have a question regarding any sort of lawsuit that I may be able to file against my ex. We never married, but were together for 23 years. I helped him start his own roofing and remodeling business. I was the bookkeeper, the receptionist, secretary, dispatcher, you name it, I was it. The only job I did not perform was getting on the roofs of peoples homes to repair them. my name was never on any of the licensures that he had, nor on the company account. Anyway, he is now gone, by way of an order of protection I placed against him,(violent man) and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to maybe establish some "back pay" or was entitled to any part of his company assets?
Basically the pay I recieved for doing all of this work over the past 7 years for his company was room and board. Do I have any legal options? ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated. THanks

You can file a claim with the state Dept. of Labor, but you can't go back seven years; either it works or it doesn't.
http://www.doli.virginia.gov/whatwedo/labor_law/powp1_faq.html

You might also be able to file a court action. It's going to be hard to prove, though, what hours you actually worked and whether or not you had an expectation of pay (that might make a difference; only an attorney in your state could tell you your chances).