Legal Question in Family Law in California
Dear LawGuru Team, Here's my question, I am in the process of a divorce, My other half was never legally divorced from her ex husband, however, we were married in Las Vegas. (A bigamous Marriage)
She is currently living in West Virginia with him again. We were together for almost 20 years before she rekindled the marriage with him. She filed for divorce from me, she hired an attorney to handle the divorce proceedings and I have been required to pay spousal support at the rate of $1040 per month. I hired an attorney to handle my end, but the results have been to say the least, poor! My attorney refuses to answer my questions, respond to e-mails, and yesterday decided to quit as my counsel. She sent me an e-mail staing that if I refused to sign the release I would be held responcible for court fees. I have also been required to pay my ex's attorneys fees at the rate of $500 per month.
Reason being was that she was unable to pay her attorney because she was unemployed. She walked away from her job in order to persue her ex.. My question is this. Can my attorney just walk away without finishing what she has started?
Several months after my ex left, she called wanting to return, when I said no, things started getting worse. At 57 years old, I am nearing complete financial melt down. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to end this, but seem to be getting deeper in debt. I waas nearing retirement before this started. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks You. John Carson
2 Answers from Attorneys
Attorneys and clients can part ways at any time, unless the attorney would cause jeopardy to the client's case that could not be resolved by hiring a new attorney and/or continuing any current proceedings. My key question to you is did you know it was a bigamous marriage? If not, I cannot immagine why you have been ordered to pay any support or much of anything else. In fact, she should be paying your attorneys fees under the Family Code. If, however, you did know and went through with it anyway, that would explain why you are getting the rulings you are, since it would be a felony you committed as well as her crime (statute of limitations have run, but that doesn't prevent it from being taken into account in the divorce proceedings). In any case, the thing to do is hire a new attorney immediately and have them take a fresh look at your situation and see if anything can be done.
I agree with Mr. McCormick. If this was a bigamous marriage, she is obviously married to someone else, and you should not be paying spousal support.
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