Legal Question in Family Law in New York

My divorce judgement specified that my ex-wife pays 25% of all medical bills for my kids. She refuses to pay. She says she's not working, so she won't pay. She just recently got remarried.

I have a 2 part question.

(1) If I take her to court to force her to pay me the money she owes me, is it a waste of time and money if she's not working? Can her husband's income play into the equation?

(2) Also we sold our marital residence, and the money is being held in escrow. As part of our divorce I get money from the sale of the house, but the escrow is being held by my ex-wife's attorney. Would I go after my ex-wife for the money, or do I have to file a complaint against the lawyer holding the escrow?

I don't have a lawyer at this point because I had to fire my lawyer that handled my divorce. I'm looking for any help I can get on this.


Asked on 4/13/11, 10:28 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel Salinger Law Office of Joel R. Salinger

First, you can go to court for contempt or an enforcement action. It is not a waste of time since you can get interest on the funds owed and if your divorce stipulation allows, you can get court and attorney's costs as well. No her husbands income can not come directly in but if she is out of work, you can ask the court to impute the benefit your ex is receiving from the support provided by the new spouse.

Second, the court could place a lien on her share of the funds being held in escrow. This way you could get your money from her share without further action. You can't file against the attorney but you can file against your ex.

Lastly, get a new lawyer. Handling something like this on your own is asking for a potential disaster and possibly getting nothing.

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Answered on 4/13/11, 11:30 am


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