Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Florida
I live in seattle washington, and exhusband lives in jacksonville florida - he left the state of washington without agreeing to divorce or reconciliation -realizing he was actually fleeing the state to avoid his responsibilities - I filed for divorce -represented myself - the exhusband hired a lawyer - when I won temporary orders that he pay me $ until the divorce was final he defaulted and did not participate further with divorce proceedings. The divorce decree I requested that he pay 1/3 of the total community debt - I was threatening to implement wage garnishment- and then he filed chapter 7 - I filed a proof of claim - I was the only creditor to receive any $ paid out by the trustee who told me my claim was a priority claim as I had stated. I then filed petition to domesticate the Washington state judgment in Florida - his bankruptcy attorney - his attorney filed a motion to dismiss my petition, after the deadline -despite that fact the court allowed him to file his motion and a hearing was held- whereas he argued that the community debt had been discharged in chapter 7 - and I was required to file an adversary claim and since I did not - I waived my right to any claim - I cited the US Bankruptcy abuse reform act of 2005 which states that marital obligations are not dishchargable and that the filing an adversary claim was not required, this being a court order - resulting from a divorce decree. the judge denied his motion to dismiss without predjudice with the option to answer my petition within 10 days -and after the deadline had passed - I filed a motion to finalize my petition domestication request and enforce the judgment - when his attorney again filed his answer 2 weeks after the deadline - denying my claim -and demanding that I get a declaratory judgment from the bankruptcy court - as to whether or not this debt was discharged- I have obtained copies of his bankruptcy proceedings including the trustee's report which states my debt was priority - and that I was paid x amount of $.
my questions are 1) what format or title would I use to respond - 2) why is the court allowing his filings after the deadline? 3) I found that if an issue arises regarding family law - such as this- was not addressed during the bankruptcy proceedings - that the state had the jurisdiction to rule - rather that refer back to bankruptcy court - so why is the court ignoring this fact - do I need to point it out for the judge? 4) I did provide the judge with factual evidence supporting my argument -being a result of a divorce decree- order -per the bankruptcy codes -and his attorney continues to argue that the marital obligation was discharged and demanding I prove that it was not discharged - why is he not required to prove that it was discharged? I have not responded to his attorney's latest late response and I feel that the rules of procedure are not being followed and the court is allowing him to jump in after he has defaulted which has happened 2 times - as described. I have his complete bankruptcy file with the trustee's report stating my claim as a priority - is this enough evidence to convince the judge? and do I have to inform the judge of the law stating that the state court can rule on this? I want to respond - to his late response - by including the bankruptcy trustee's report - which states my case is priorty etc. as well as informational facts regarding the court having the right to rule on this -but not sure how to label this as a motion or pleading or what? and I really would like to know why his attorney's filings are accepted after the deadline? also, when the motion to dismiss was filed - his attorney never sent me a copy of this - I saw the motion online by luck! - which I promptly responded to - I asked the court coordinator what rules were we playing with here? as it appears that the deadlines and procedure rules do not apply to his attorney - do I have any recourse to that behavior?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Based on the facts described in your complex inquiry, my general suggestion is to: file a motion objecting/responding to the pleading tactics of the opposing attorney and requesting a hearing so that you can describe to the Court in detail your questions, issues, and objections. I assume you are in Washington state court but it isn't clear. Your case requires consideration of bankruptcy and family law issues which involve federal/state law issues. Attorneys may often file pleadings which don't comply with legal guidelines, but if the other party doesn't object, the Court may not consider it. You have a state/federal legal matter and uncooperative opposing party to deal with, so you may benefit by consulting with an experienced local attorney.
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