Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky
After 36 yrs of marriage my ex got a divorce in april. At the time I was foolish enough not to fight it and signed off since he was threatening and had me a bit scared. He promised me if I would do this he would replace the hot water tank in this house and the fix the furnance and put my front door on..He also promised to give me some money from a car he was working on ( he was restoring it and has sinced stopped working on it ). exactly how much money was never really discussed but he had told my son in law 2 to 5 thousand.. That number varied depending on his mood of the moment. He also said his attorney would charge him 1800 and if he didn't have to go through him would give me a settlement out of that. He has not followed through on any of those..He also told me that since he had the money to fight me and his attorney said I would get no alimony or would be unable to force a sale on some property he owns ( this is based on his saying the property is still owed on and is part of what he already gave the kids so would be transferred to them after paid off. The alimoney he claims I would not get due to my working during the marriage. In all honesty I worked at time but was home for about 10 - 12 yrs with out working.. Then went part time to full time the last 5 yrs. I want to know is there anyway I can get any of these verbal promises done or can I go back and sue for alimoney and sale of property?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Probably not. Unless the settlement agreement was unconscionable, the court will not set it aside. Only a consultation with a local family law attorney will tell you for sure.
This is why it is extremely important to seek legal counsel during a divorce. Even if both parties are in agreement, each should consult an attorney before signing to make certain they have not gotten a raw deal. An attorney can only represent one party in a noncontested divorce; the other party acts pro se (on his own behalf). And why on earth would anyone trust the word of the individual who has just abandoned their marriage? He just broke the biggest promise he ever made: his marriage vow. He will have no problem breaking a few little promises about money. Or lying outright to bully you into signing away property to which you were entitled.
While you may not have gotten an award of maintenance, you may have gotten a better deal concerning property and asset division, had you had legal counsel. Consult a local attorney to be certain, but it is probably too late now.
What you are explaining is a very hard earned lesson. In the midst of a divorce, when one is most vulnerable, folks often make decisions just wanting the pain to stop or due to intimidation. Unfortunately, once the decree is entered there are few circumstances in which it can be changed regarding property division and alimony (maintenance). You would have to prove that you agreed under duress. This is not the normal stress of a divorce; it is the level of stress one experiences when one believes his or her life is in imminent danger if they do not comply.
Even trying to go back and show that the agreement is unconscionable is exceedingly unlikely because the judge would have already made a finding that it was not unconscionable and the 30 days to appeal that has likely run.
The only other crack to open the door to changing the decree is if you discover new evidence that could not have been reasonable discovered at the time of the divorce proceeding. An example would be finding out that your ex had stashed away tons of money and actively hid that from you in the divorce. An example would NOT be that you discover that he is not making good on verbal promises.
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