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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    7

    Default Bad divorce lawyer

    I had been married for 20 years when I hired my lawyer back in 2002 for my Divorce. I'm currently not divorced yet... We did go to court and have signed documents for the divorce, so there is a court order in place for alimony, child support, who gets what, etc... In 2003, I had major surgery and didn't hear from my Lawyer for about 8 months (give or take) and when I did reach him, he apologized and actually said he'd "forgotten" about my case. Part of my divorce reason was that my ex-spouse had run us in the ground financially – we were both left with about 50K in debt. So as time went on, and as I tried to see clear thru my debt, I decided to file bankruptcy early 2004. (by the way, my ex-spouse never hired a Lawyer of his own and has been ‘riding my coat tails’ thru the divorce and now bankruptcy) My lawyer agreed to take on the bankruptcy (for both of us) and said it would be in our best interest to file jointly and then take care of the divorce (yet another delay). In April 2005, my ex-spouse lost his job! He was a VP/Owner, making approximately 155K annually, and he was given three (3) months severance as well as 25 or 30 days vacation – which he pissed away by August. He’s collecting unemployment and still, to this day does not have a job. He has however, miraculously, hired a Lawyer to defend him in the Alimony/Child support he’s been giving me and wants to stop paying me until he finds a job. (said his parents helped him with Lawyer costs)
    Here’s my point:
    While I can see that I can’t “get blood from a turnip”, my Lawyer has told me the same and says there is nothing he can do. He knows my financial situation and knows that I can’t pay him what I owe him much less start anything further. My ex-spouses Lawyer required an answer to his letter by October 7th. My Lawyer called to get my “final answer” as to whether or not I’ll let my ex-spouse go “scott-free” until he finds a job on Oct 27th and I have not heard from him since. Can my lawyer just give up on me (my case) or am I being overly sensitive? I don't have my parents or family to help me with any costs, I'm doing what I can with my own finances, my daughter and getting on with life. I have no money to get a new Lawyer. Any advise?!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Negotiating a Divorce

    I'm not sure what you're asking. If you can't reach an agreement regarding financial issues, ultimately you'll have to have the judge who hears your case decide them for you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    7

    Default

    My question is - Can my Lawyer give up on me (my case)? Is there anything I can do so that he'll "fight" for me, since I feel he no longer will because I'm 'out of money'...

    Or are you saying I should take it to court and let the judge make the decisions?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Representation

    Perhaps you should talk to your lawyer about paying his balance out of the divorce settlement, or working out some form of payment system that he finds acceptable.

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