Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota
Can a divorce agreement be modified after it has been filed?
In May of 2003 my ex husband and I filed a Summary of Dissaloution for our marriage. It was granted on June 9th of 2003. In there was a breakout of all the credit card debt that we had. Now my ex husband is threatening to have an attorney modify that debt responsibility, and possibly go after some of the furniture he'd previously said I could have.
Can he do this?
Thank you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can a divorce agreement be modified after it has been filed?
Probably not. He would have to show some kind of fraud, inadvertance or mistake to justify reopening the decree. A property division (which includes division of debt) generally can't be reopened for changes. Child support or custody or spousal maintenance can usually be modified after a divorce is final if a party can show a substantial change of circumstances. But this is usually not the case with property settlements.
And just think about what he is saying here. Is he really going to pay a lawyer hundreds or thousands of dollars to get some furniture from you which can't be worth that much? And is he really willing to shell out that kind of money to make you responsible for more debt? Sounds to me like he could be blowing smoke to intimidate you, or to manipulate you. A more detailed analysis of your facts could change my opinion, but these are my initial thoughts regarding your case.
Thank you for the e-mail and good luck to you.
Ronald J. Lundquist
Telephone: 651-210-3105
Web site: www.rjlundquistlaw.com
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