Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
During my divorce, my attorney incurred $30,000 in fees, yet never obtained 410 docs, never complied with case management ( did not file a pretrial memorandum, a witness list etc, did not conduct discovery, changed my final financial statement to indicate I had $50,0000 when all along I had - -18,0000 ( because my husband , the defendant, had taken all of our money $167,000 and quit his job- after earning between $180,000 and $300,000 annually during our marriage)The financial situation is why I filed for divorce in the first place. Finally, my attorney, my ex husband and his attorney made 11 pages of changes to our settlement agreement over the weekend before we were scheduled for trial - and presented them to me with the amended financial statement. At this point I was penniless and exhausted and didn't know what the judge would do so I just signed.
I recently found a copy of my ex husband's tax return ( which my attorney refused to request despite my e-mail entreaties)indicating he earned $170,000 the year he claimed to earn $11,000 on his financial statement. Had he been honest, our divorce would have been very different.
My ex is a louse, but we are getting along very well, but the financial circumstances I have been left in are devastating. I am reluctant to take my ex back to court- I barely survived the last time and was hoping I had some recourse against my attorney. Any ideas
4 Answers from Attorneys
Based on what you are stating and the difference between the tax return and the financial statement, you may have grounds to re-open the divorce / property settlement. Generally, before there are grounds against your attorney for malpractice, there must be a harm and in this case, it appears the harm can be remedied by presenting accurate information to the courts.
Feel free to contact our office to set up an appointment to review your agreement, financial statements and the tax return(s) in question.
How long ago was this? You may want to threaten to vacate the divorce judgment based on the fact that he misstated to the court his income and assets. How long ago was all of this?
I suggest you contact an experienced divorce attorney to review the entire file. If need be I will recommend someone to you.
Based on the information you found, your husband may (probably did) fraudulently misrepresented his financial condition and ability to earn income.
You do not say how long you were married or if he is paying child support. Clearly child support can be corrected.
To sue an attorney for malpractice you need to demonstrate harm and to mitigate damages
I agree: what you are discribing is potential malpractice by your lawyer and fraud by your ex-husband.
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