Could also be possible, that since I have never retained him personally, only paid the bills, leaves an opening. My personal, and business affairs are handled by another att. The papers I have from before look rather generic, but lay out as you mentioned. Just no one representing. A place for each to sign, a witness, and notary.
I am not sure if the conflict of interest is the same across the board.
I was told by my attny that ANY dealings my H would have had with the firm I chose (be it a consult or more) they would be unable to rep me.
I also know when I had the initial consult with my attny we were both required to sign an agreement that while the consult and any info exchanged would remain confidential (if I retained the firm or not) it would also be sufficient to serve as a conflict of interest should my H contact them for a consult regarding our divorce or ANY other matter (the firm I chose also practiced criminal and business law). So if my H needed a business attny my firm would be unable to help him as I had already consulted them.
The reason I find this very odd is attnys know under any circumstance they must first protect themselves. Even if your W approached the family attny in a casual way it seems strange he would offer her ANY advice and feel comfortable with her executing the advice on her own. If she filed papers on her own and made ANY mistake it will be very, very costly to rectify the matter. There is a reason attnys have legal assistants and paralegals to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. One misplaced decimal point can change EVERYTHING!
I could be wrong but it just strikes me as very odd. All states have a "generic" form for separation or divorce decrees that must be followed but particulars are added as per the agreement both parties reach.
As I said, maybe this is a "per state" thing but it might be something to keep in the back of your mind.
Will have to do some research on that. As I said, the papers she had left before apeared generic. No mention of, or a place for an att to sign. W could have lied about even talking to him. She has about many other things. She could have got the forms from the court house.
The thing that still confuses me is the way it was presented. All property, vehicles, time shares, house, equip. to stay 'as is'. The only thing asked for in any way was a D. No $ settlement, selling and dividing anything.
The only thing I can really suggest is to educate yourself on the laws of your state in the area of divorce and/or separation.
In my state, a divorce or separation decree MUST be accompanied by a settlement offer. Of course one is not required to agree to the settlement but it must be included with the separation/divorce decree.
I live in a "fault" state so things are a bit different than "no fault" states. Here though even a separation agreement requires division of assets. And there are very specific timelines on how long you have to respond to the filing.
Forms are available at the courthouse or online for most states but even if an individual (not legal counsel) files them they still must be filed correctly. That is why I suggest you educate yourself on the particulars of your state (or get a consult with a family law attny).
I also wanted to say sorry for butting in on your thread. It seems you are getting very good support and many things to think about from varying perspectives so I will refrain from murking the waters further.
The attny (or lack of) issue caught my eye. It is also telling (IMO of course) that your W's parents so freely give her money. It's not something to make an issue about but is something you should be very aware of. Once you do get on a solid track of setting boundaries and really finding out what is what the legal backlash may (or may not) begin. It seems she has a willing source (her parents) to fund her needs for counsel if need be.
Just went online, had noticed original papers W had presented were from another court district, county we moved from 4 years ago. No record of any filing there either. Talked to a crcuit clerk. Found that what she had presented before [no settlement,etc] wouldn't even make it to a hearing.
Don't know what her game is, but this D part is an illegal foul so far. No wonder no att name anywhere.
Glad you got to the bottom of things. That is why it is essential to either be *very* educated about divorce in your state or hand it all over to an attny who is.
In most states a hearing is not the first step anyhow. She would need to file PROPERLY, have you served, wait the allotted time frame for you to respond and the attnys would start their business. If nothing pans out that way there is usually a mandatory pre-trial hearing (conference) of some sort that is still fairly informal.
No matter what the laws of your state might be, the WAS that aims for the "quick and easy" divorce usually finds out the hard (and costly way) that no such thing exists.
You're dead right. If it ever does get to that point, I wouldn't cheat her, but neither would everything stay in 'both' our names. W would have to get a job. That would kill her. She's worked now and then at small jobs, but for fun, fill in boring days.
Her dad would help her, but he would never support her. He'd say 'get off your a$$ and take care of your self.' He's funny that way, like a bank. If you don't really need it, he can be generous, but if it's because you're not doing something for yourself, 'go to hell, get a job'.
