Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon
spousal support
My wife filled for divorce then changed it to a unlimited seperation agreement. I signed it under false pretense, i was lied to adn didn't have an attorney or understand the terms or terminology i know ignorance isn't an excuse. But i was told that i was orderd tp pay spousal support for three years as a judgement her attorney was there i thought somone would be honest. If i file for divorce do i still have to pay her relief for 3yrs. Even though we would be no longer seperated but divorced. I didn't know that a seperation agreement was a divorce decree basically until recently. I thought it was only for seperation since that is what its titled. If it is for divorce it should state and also in divorce shouldn't it. Or is this one of those implied things that i learned about in my injury lawyers contingentcey fee agreement contract. That only the writer would know what is implied and what isn't .. Thank you for your time.`clackamas,OR
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: spousal support
YOUR QUESTION:
If i file for divorce do i still have to pay her relief for 3yrs?
ANSWER:
Maybe. It all depends on what the divorce court judge decides to. You can file for divorce (new case filing, new case number, new filing fee must be paid, etc.) at any time even though there is still in effect a judgment of legal separation. And when you file for divorce, it makes for a whole new ballgame. What was done in the separation case is not controlling on the power of the judge when rendering a judgment of dissolution of marriage (i.e., divorce).
Keep in mind that the agreement reached as part of the separation proceeding was presumably reached with the understanding that it would be effective only so long as the parties remain legally separated. The law presumes that both parties understood that a "legal separation" is NOT a divorce. If either or both parties wanted to get a divorce, that could have been done. But it was not. Instead, the parties accepted a judgment of "legal separation." And the law presumes that when they did so, they both understood that either party could at any time thereafter file a petition for divorce, and that the divorce court judge's decision could supersede and abrogate anything that was done in the separation proceeding.
LAWRENCE D. GORIN
http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html
Law Offices of L.D. Gorin
521 S.W. Clay St., Suite 205
Portland, Oregon 97201
Telephone: 503.224.8884
Fax: 503.226.1321
E-mail: [email protected]
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