Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
My wife and I have been divorced for over 2 years and, have just signed a purchase and sale agreement for the sale of our home. Our divorce decree states that we split the proceeds 50/50 after closing costs and the payment of our mortgage and, I give my ex-wife $4000 for the timeshare we own in Aruba.
The decree also mentions the fair distribution of our personal property. She took approximately 80% of the items we accumulated during a 30 year marriage. I was fine with that, until she presented this next wrinkle:
She now is claiming that I owe her $3,700 for extra work she did on the house to prepare it to be put on the market. She did spend more hours at the house but, I have rheumatoid arthritis and, my right coronary artery has been 100% blocked since I was 38 years old. That is twenty years now. I cannot do more than 3-4 hours of physical labor on most days. I feel she is exploiting my disabilities here.
Also, I have been unemployed since I was laid off in March of this year.
I signed a form she presented to me this week, agreeing to set $5,000 in escrow at the closing, to be mediated upon.
If this has to go to mediation and/or court, all I want is that whatever sum she says I owe her for extra work hours, be offset by what I say she owes me for the lion's share of our personal property she took.
If it turns out that she owes me money, I don't want it, I will call it square.
I need to know whether, in your opinion, my arguments here will hold up with a mediator or, a judge.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The judgment of divorce (decree) controls. You should bring this to a judge and ask the judge to enforce the decree. If the parties didn't put prep time and costs into the agreement, the judgment is what it is. Your ex is in contempt if she attempts to require anything different.
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