Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

divorce

I am a recovering alcoholic. I was in

active addiction during my divorce

proceedings which my attorney was

very much aware of. When we went

to trial, he negotiated a settlement

agreement the morning of the trial

and told me it was a fair equitable

deal. A year later I found a paper

that he had sent me that had all the

marital assets value and the

minimum was 1.8 million in assets

with the maximum being 2.2 million.

I received 1.1 million with 8 years

alimony of 6,000.00 per month.

Even adding alimony into the

property settlement I am still under

the appraisal amounts. Is this

grounds for malpractice? Wasn't it

his job to make sure I at least got

the minimum value of appraised

property? He even admitted to

another attorney in front of me that

I was probably shorted $250,000.00

dollars. Is this grounds for

malpractice?


Asked on 2/24/08, 11:11 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Re: divorce

If you received half of the assets as part of the Settlement then it will be difficult to lodge a successful legal malpractice case. Ultimately, you are responsible for the things you sign. The attorney's job is to provide advice, negotiate the best possible settlement and to prepare the case for trial if necessary.

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Answered on 2/27/08, 1:52 pm
James Hart The Hart Law Firm, P.A.

Re: divorce

If I understand you correctly, your attorney got you half the maximum amount of assets that he had previously sent to you. That sounds fair in a family law case.

Second, if your attorney had sent you a letter ahead of time, and you agreed to the settlement anyway, then he probably did his job.

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Answered on 2/26/08, 10:27 am
Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

Re: divorce

If you signed the settlement agreement after he sent you the paper that listed all the assets, it sounds like it's your fault you came up short, not his. Also, he can't be responsible for your alcoholism, though he may bear some responsibility if you were drunk when you signed the papers and he knew you were drunk at the time.

His job isn't to make sure you get at least the minimum value of the appraised property. His job is to get you a settlement you can agree to and, if an agreeable settlement can't be reached, to represent you competently at trial.

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Answered on 2/24/08, 2:20 pm


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