Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

Botched Divorce Case

In March of l997 I retained a lawyer to divorce my husband of 16 years; we had sold our house years earlier, had no kids, and no assets to divide. Papers were filed in Marion County. I paid her $200 to file; she said it should be no problem and an easy case to resolve. My spouse did not sign and return the papers. Eventually, I called her and she told me HE had talked to her about the case but was going out of town and he'd phone her later and she'd get back to me. I called her again, but she was very rude and told me to wait until he returned to see what was happening.

I never heard from her again. I wasn't desparate for the divorce as I had no plans to remarry or anything, but I think she should have contacted me. Now what should I do--refile with another attorney, or what? I'm now in a hurry to get this matter cleaned up. Do they still have those ''quickie'' divorces somewhere where I can go to resolve this once and for all?

--name removed--


Asked on 6/25/01, 5:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dorene Philpot Philpot Law Office

Re: Botched Divorce Case

If you paid the attorney $200 to do a divorce and the filing fee is $100, it sounds like you got what you paid for. Not much.

A divorce in Indiana has a 60-day waiting period from the time of filing.

I'm guessing that the old file is sufficiently stale that the case would have to be refiled.

But sometimes the courts are lazy and don't toss out old cases. If that is the case, then you won't have to pay a new filing fee. You can just reinitiate things.

The court will require some action from you or your lawyer, either a settlement agreement or a final hearing before the divorce is final.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

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Answered on 6/29/01, 4:50 pm


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