Legal Question in Family Law in New York
help with settlement
I presently live in Florida. I am legaly seperated from my husband of 25 years. we lived in NY, and thats where my divorce was filed. In our settlement agreement, i gave him the house and his pension, I got a small condo and he was supposed to pay the martial debt of our credit cards. I was a stay at home mom for 20 years and did not have an income till the time of our seperation. this agreement was signed by all parties feb 98. to date he has not paid the credit cards and my attorney will not help me. My attorney failed to get an escrow account from my husband at the time of this signing. my credit has suffered greatly because i cannot pay these cards, and i dont feel i have to. this was part of our settlement. now my laywer wants another $6,000. to take this back to court. i feel this unfair. I will not sign the final divorce papers till this credit card debt is paid. please help, did my lawyer not look out for my best interest?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: help with settlement
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. Your separation agreement is a contract like any other, and is entitled to enforcement. Assuming the contract is valid and similar to most separation agreements, your husband must not only pay the credit card bills as agreed, but must "hold you harmless" from those debts, and perhaps even pay for any costs you incur in having the debts paid. You can try to send a copy of your separation agreement to the credit card companies to hold them off, but it is unlikely that they would even consider leaving you alone and go after your husband without a court order.
As for your present attorney, I do not know what was involved in the bargaining process both between you and the attorney, and the attorney on your behalf in reaching the agreement so I cant evalute his/her performance. $6000 may or may not be too much to ask for the work involved, however, your husband and you would have to be the Hatfields and McCoys to justify such a fee!! Feel free to contact me for further, more specific, information
Stacey Van Malden
Stacey Van Malden, Attorney at Law
6629 Broadway, 7H
Re: help with settlement
Although the settlement agreement is an enforceble contract, it will not prevent the credit card companies from seeking recovery from you. You can, however, submit a dispute statement in your credit report file. You can also seek bankruptcy protection. Without knowing the extent of the work to be done and the bitterness of the diputes, I do not feel proper in commenting upon another attorney's fee request. If you wish to discuss the matter further,without obligation, call me at 305-940-8080.
Alexander M. Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld & Stein, P.A.
18260 NE 19 Ave
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