Just got divorced and the ex is defaulting in payments...what to do?
 

Not me, but a good friend of mine is in this situation. She recently got divorced after about five years of marriage. No kids, no house, but had money stashed in various brokerage accounts, which the ex took care of as he was a CFO for a local credit union. However, most of them were in solely his name, as he opened those accounts before they got married and assured her it's no big deal. Obviously, she was quite naive... He had landed his job after they got married and made $100k/yr, but she was doing her share of contributions as an eye doc and made slightly less.

Anyway, the settlement on the divorce papers was (I think) around $25k plus the car, which was about a third of what they were worth. However due to the economy (and the bad choices he made with stocks) they verbally agreed to a payment plan for a bit of cash up front, monthly payments for 6 months, and a bit of cash at the end of it. She thought that was more than fair, and it wouldn't put him in the red. Three months into the payments he stopped transferring money into the account, citing random things about lack of money (which included having to put money into the margin account, buying a new car, renovating his apartment, and the last email about finally getting his brother psychological help). She responded to his emails saying that the money isn't what he's paying her...it's what's rightfully hers. He is no longer responding to her emails, phone calls, texts, etc. She moved out of state shortly after the divorce and was trying to start over, but the job market hasn't exactly been great. What can she do, and what are her options at this time? If she was to hire an attorney, does it matter what state they're in?

Thanks in advance!

I'm not lawyer but have been through a divorce.


if legal documents were filed stipulating what you posted about the payments then she should contact the attorney that handled the divorce for her, regardless of where she moved.


I don't know the laws for each state but that is where I would start if it were me.










or hire someone to help him have an accident.

Stay single.

court documents only show the lump sum, and the payments were agreed upon verbally. At the time they worked out everything without an attorney (neither party wanted one)...she didn't think this was gonna happen.

Wayne, for not being a lawyer you did pretty well. Jurisdiction lies in the county that granted the divorce. If the distribution of assets is laid out in the settlement agreement or order she needs to file a motion for contempt of court. Her attorney will know what to do.

Yow.

She may not have any recourse in that case.

My ex-wife and I agreed verbally on our house. She was to buy it "in her name" only
so I wasn;t on the title. At the time, she was without a job so we agreed that she would continue making the payments until she could re-finance it. She made the payments without fail but after a year witih no change I decided that she needs to move on this and contacted my lawyer who forced her to refinance. No problems became of it and all worked out great for us.


your friend should at least contact an attorney(what the he11 is the differeence in an attorney and a lawyer, BTW?) in her town right away. they should know what can be done, if anything.

good luck to her

Thanks Kurt.
I fill the vending machines at the courthouse. I must have picked up on some of that lawyerin' stuff.:D

I'll send her a link to this thread. thanks guys!

One is a parasitic, garbage-eating bottom dweller; the other is a fish.

Err...wait a minute. Wrong joke.

Nevermind.

Contracts 101: A verbal agreement is not worth the paper its not written on.

Contact atty who handled the divorce and have him file a motion for contempt (of the Court order not the verbal agreement). Have the attorney ask that her legal fees be reimbersed by the husband.

Oh heck...just listen to Kurt;)

The way I heard it was:

One is a scum sucking, bottom dweller; and the other is, uh, you know, there is no difference. :D

Lawyer jokes are way better than Engineer jokes

Two lawyers walking down the strreet when they pass a gorgeous young blonde. One lawyer says to the other "Wouldn't you like to screw her?" Other lawyer says "Outta what?":cool:

I only know one engineer joke. Punchline: Their personalities.

Be careful here Jeff....getting in the middle of a divorce dispute can be nasty...

Let lawyers and courts handle it.

If this is in CA, law says they had to use a lawyer for a divorce - (anything over two years of marriage and 25K joint ppty). So something is not adding up. Regardless, a lawyer is needed now, which means everyone loses (except the lawyer). Too bad a clean break couldn't be made

thankfully not my mess...just helping out a good friend who's lost...

this was in Hawaii, where a lawyer wasn't required for divorce...apparently it's pretty simple/easy to get divorced in Hawaii.