January 2012

Monthly Archive

Can My Ex Reopen Our Divorce Settlement to Get My Retirement?

Summary

My ex and I divorced almost eight years ago. She is threatening to have the settlement reopened to go after my retirement. Can she do that?

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

‘I live in CA and was married to my ex in CA. We were divorced 8 years ago and were married for 18 years. She remarried almost 2 months to the day after our divorce was final and still is currently married. In our divorce papers it stated that she will receive our home which had approximately $125,000 in equity, various home furnishings, the new car, savings account and checking account. My ex was the one who drew up the divorce papers and the division of property. In the settlement I was awarded home furnishings, a 1996 Astro-Van, my Credit Union Account which had $500.00, my Deferred Compensation plan worth $30,000 and my PERS Account with a value of $99,983.15. She is now threatening to reopen the MSA and go after my retirement. She said she left a lot on the table and now she wants it. Again, she has been married since March of 2004; seven and half years. She sold the house in the same year we were divorced and purchased another home with the proceeds. The economy has taken such a loss and the home she purchased is about $300,000 underwater. I remarried in 2009 and my retirement is worth more now. So my big question is can she now take a portion of my retirement?’

Typically once a final settlement is reached and incorporated into a court order,
that’s the end of it. Neither party can re-open it (that’s why it’s called “final”).

Assuming that this *was* a final settlement, and signed off on by the court, your ex-wife should not be able to re-open the issue (unless she wants to file an action for fraud, saying you failed to disclose information *at the time*). But to be sure, you should have an attorney review your final agreement and orders, and of course if you are served in this matter, contact a family law attorney right away.


A house attorney has answered this question. Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.

 

Ex Won’t Sign Papers to Sell Property

Summary

I was divorced over 20 years ago and was stuck with a timeshare that was in both of our names. The divorce papers stated that my husband had to file a quit claim and that I would be responsible for paying it off. I have and he didn’t. When I needed to do something with the property years ago, I discovered he never filed the quit claim. I took some papers for him to sign in the absence of the quit claim and he made a citizen’s arrest, indicating I violated a restraining order that never existed.

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

‘I was divorced over 20 years ago and was stuck with a timeshare that was in both of our names. The divorce papers stated that my husband had to file a quit claim and that I would be responsible for paying it off. I have and he didn’t. When I needed to do something with the property years ago, I discovered he never filed the quit claim. I took some papers for him to sign in the absence of the quit claim and he made a citizen’s arrest, indicating I violated a restraining order that never existed. The charges were dropped by the court. My attorney had told me that I could sue my ex for false arrest and also because the divorce papers indicated that he needed to cooperate on such matters that his cooperation was necessary. I was moving out of state and was just glad to be moving on so I didn’t take any action. Now, I am selling the time-share and I need his signature on the papers. I have left phone messages asking him to return my calls, but he hasn’t. I live in Texas; he lives in California. I could
just go ahead and send them certified mail, but I don’t believe he will do anything with them but throw them away. After over 20 years, I hate feeling like I’m being held prisoner to a bitter, vindictive man and I need for this transaction to go through. Where do I start and can I sue him for delaying the process if he continues with this behavior? I have to continue to pay maintenance fees until the sale goes through. Also, I do have a quit claim that he eventually filled out but, like another reader had indicated, it was returned to me because it was not filled out correctly. I tried to get him to correct
it and he wouldn’t. Also, is it possible that I could just send a copy of the quit claim in with the sale paperwork and that it would be accepted?

Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!’

If your divorce attorney told you that your ex needs to cooperate,
that’s probably correct. Ultimately, a court would probably force him
to do so (or do it for him), but that could be a relatively long and
expensive process.

I would start by talking to the timeshare people and asking them what
they need to complete the transaction. If they need his signature on
something, get it drafted and send it to him. Yes, he will probably
ignore you, but it’s worth a shot and if he does ignore it that will
help you in court later.


Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.