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  1. #1
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    May 2015
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    Default Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    My question involves a marriage in the state of: California

    I was married in 2002, after 2 years I couldn't take anymore so I left. Her family promptly hired an attorney, he sent me the necessary paperwork I filled it out and returned it. This past September I received a summons from Los Angela's Superior court (family court). It was filled out by my ex wife and her divorce attorney. Apparently the divorce was never finalized due to her attorneys negligence. I realize this is her attorney and under normal circumstances he doesn't owe me any obligation but due to his negligence I have had to hire an attorney of my own. This is costing me money, money I don't have as I am now disabled and live on a very small disability income. Her attorney was negligent and I am now having to pay money to an attorney of my own due to his negligence not to mention the stress this is causing me making my disability worst

    After I sent her attorney the necessary paper work in 2004 and thought the divorce was final my ex would call me to tell me she was throwing more of my personal belongings away. Belongings that I wasn't alllowed to get when we had agreed I could go over to her house on a certain date to get ALL my belongings. She put a few of my belongings in the driveway and I wasn't allowed to go into the house to get the rest. I realize I can't get reimbursed for those things but to this day it still bothers me she threw things away that I could never replace, she did out of spite knowing there was nothing I could do about it.

    Also, not that this has any bearing on the divorce that I'm aware of but her mother passed away in 2013 and left my ex wife and her brother beneficiarys of an estate worth $20 million so money isn't an issue for this woman. While we were married the company she worked for went out on strike. The manager of her store asked my ex wife if she would came to work during the strike using someone else's name and social security number, she worked illegally for 6 months. The Attorney General said they wouldn't prosecute these individuals if they cooperated which I'm assuming she did. Can I use any of this to my advantage? This woman caused me so much grief after I left her I actually transferred to another state so she couldn't make false accusations against me to the police which she tried to do. What I would like to do is call her attorney and say I'll sign whatever they want for x amount of dollars. To my understanding she wants to get this divorce finalized ASAP as she wants to get remarried. What I don't want to do is do anything that's illegal. No amount of money is worth going to jail for. Thank you

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    No, you cannot sue your ex's lawyer for negligence as her lawyer owes you no duty. His duty is to his client.

    As you suggest that you have paid a lawyer to represent you, your lawyer can review the divorce case and advise you as to whether there's any chance of convincing a court to treat the date at which the marital estate should be divided as a date subsequent to 2002. I am not going to venture a guess without knowing the exact status of the divorce back in 2002, and how early in the divorce process the ball was fumbled.

  3. #3
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    Jun 2010
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    You should speak with your attorney. You can ask him/her if it would be possible to request that she (your stbx) pay your legal fees.

  4. #4
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    Oct 2014
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    You should never rely on the opposing party to do something without following up reasonably soon after to ensure it got done. Especially something like getting a divorce finalized. When you didn’t get a copy of the order finalizing the divorce that should have prompted you to follow-up with the court and see what was up. Lots of things can happen that might mess it up, and that could happen even if the lawyer himself had done everything right. As a result, part of this is on you, I’m afraid. Moreover, even if you could have sued her lawyer for negligence, the time to do that has long since passed. The statute of limitations for tort claims in California is two years from the date of the act or failure to act that gave rise to the injury suffered by the plaintiff. Here that was in 2004. California does have a discovery rule, however, that extends the statute of limitations up to a year after you discover facts indicating you have a claim or could have discovered those facts with the exercise of due diligence. The discovery rule would not help you much here because you could have easily discovered the problem back in 2004 or 2005 by checking with the court to find out why you never got the final divorce decree. I’m not saying that the wife’s attorney has no blame here. I don’t know exactly what happened so I cannot say whether he screwed up or not. You say he did, and that may be the case. Even so, there is nothing you can do to sue him over it. He owed you no duty to begin with, as Mr. Knowitall pointed out, but even if he did it is simply too late to sue at this point.

    But it is reasonable that her lawyer do all the work now to do what he should have done back then to get the divorce finalized. It really shouldn’t cost you anything to have deal with it. It is probably unrealistic, though, to expect her to cough up cash to get you to sign now.

  5. #5
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    May 2015
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    Thank you all for your replies. I was led to believe that I couldn't sue her attorney unless it effected me financially which it is because now I have to hire an attorney to make sure the divorce is done correctly this time. I asked my attorney earlier today and he said I could if I had $15,000.00-$20,000.00 to hire another attorney which I obviously don't and suggested I just let it go which is what I'm going to do.

    This is the first and last time I'll go through a divorce beings I'll never get remarried so I had no idea this sort of thing could happen and I never thought someone could make such a huge mistake. That being said I never gave it a second thought the divorce would never be finalized beings her attorney took care of everything. Thank you

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    How is this picture...14 year marriage on paper...one spouse is apparently well off with assets in 10 million range and the other spouse is disabled and lives on a very small disability income ...might we not expect some duty to care for a spouse at least as to minimal comforts and decent health care and or not have spouse on public care rolls if that's what he means . Why not reopen the whole picture ?
    Because they filed for divorce back in 2004 and have been separated since then. As a result, property they acquired during the separation is generally not community property, and inheritance is not community property even without divorce anyway. A court is not going to give him a windfall for the slip up of his ex’s attorney. I know you like to go out on tangents with this kind of stuff, but encouraging him to dig in and reopen things from the start risks encouraging him to spend a lot of money with the likely result that he won’t get anything more than what they agreed to back in 2004.

  7. #7
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    May 2015
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    Thank you for your replies but I'm a realist and even though im ill I still have pretty good common sense. I've accepted im not going to get any money out of this but it's still nice to dream about the possibility. What I don't understand is the day after I left her she called me and told me she was going to drop my last name and start using her maiden name right away which was fine by me but I found out this morning she's still using my last name. She had to know the divorce was never final, beings she wanted to start using her maiden name as soon as possible why wouldn't she call her attorney and ask him what's taking so long for the divorce to become final? i logged onto the Family Court's web site and checked out the status of the divorce that was filed in 2004. Here's a portion of what it said "2009 Notice-OSC failure to file Dismiss" "Dismissed - Lack of Prosecution" I'm just not exactly sure what it means. Thanks again

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    It's not your last name. It's hers. Always will be.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    Quote Quoting tug
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    Thank you for your replies but I'm a realist and even though im ill I still have pretty good common sense. I've accepted im not going to get any money out of this but it's still nice to dream about the possibility. What I don't understand is the day after I left her she called me and told me she was going to drop my last name and start using her maiden name right away which was fine by me but I found out this morning she's still using my last name. She had to know the divorce was never final, beings she wanted to start using her maiden name as soon as possible why wouldn't she call her attorney and ask him what's taking so long for the divorce to become final?
    She may simply have decided to keep the married name. It’s less hassle to do that then to change her name with all sorts of government agencies, employers, etc. It is her name, after all, and no law requires her to change it when the divorce is done. In any event, it doesn’t really make a difference to the outcome whether she might have known it didn’t go through back in 2004. You both should have known when no final divorce decree was received.

    Quote Quoting tug
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    i logged onto the Family Court's web site and checked out the status of the divorce that was filed in 2004. Here's a portion of what it said "2009 Notice-OSC failure to file Dismiss" "Dismissed - Lack of Prosecution" I'm just not exactly sure what it means. Thanks again
    Dismissed for lack of prosecution means that the court dismissed the case because neither you or your wife followed through to bring the case to conclusion and finish the divorce. It is what happens when a case has been sitting around for quite awhile in the court with no activity.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Your Ex's Attorney for Negligence

    Quote Quoting tug
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    Thank you for your replies but I'm a realist and even though im ill I still have pretty good common sense. I've accepted im not going to get any money out of this but it's still nice to dream about the possibility. What I don't understand is the day after I left her she called me and told me she was going to drop my last name and start using her maiden name right away which was fine by me but I found out this morning she's still using my last name. She had to know the divorce was never final, beings she wanted to start using her maiden name as soon as possible why wouldn't she call her attorney and ask him what's taking so long for the divorce to become final? i logged onto the Family Court's web site and checked out the status of the divorce that was filed in 2004. Here's a portion of what it said "2009 Notice-OSC failure to file Dismiss" "Dismissed - Lack of Prosecution" I'm just not exactly sure what it means. Thanks again
    It's in my divorce decree that I can change my name back to my maiden name but I haven't. I was determined to change it immediately when I first filed. But I haven't. Why? Because it's so much more of a hassle to change your name in the military. I don't want to go through it again - and it makes it easier with my daughter when I go to get her meds or anything medical.

    She can keep her married last name as long as she wants. You can't do anything about it. She'll probably change it anyway once she gets married again.

    You can ask her to pay all legal fees and see if she'll do that.

    Quote Quoting tug
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    Thank you Mr Matters, here's what I've concluded. My wife knew the divorce was never finalized because she couldn't legally use her maiden name unless she changed it with the courts. It's not like money was an issue as her family literally has millions. Im going to contest this divorce based on that premise
    Now you're going to cost yourself even more money that you don't have. But that's on you. Again I'd ask her to at least pay your legal fees and you'll sign whatever.

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