My wife and I had a written property division during marriage, such as how to split house and money if we divorce. We did it in handwriting and did not seek legal advice, but every single sentence was agreed and signed at that moment. When we are actually facing divorce, she hired a lawyer and said the written agreement was invalid and she said it was not legally binding since we did not ask a lawyer to prepare for that. Am I able to sue her back that she did not follow the agreement? Or I need to accept that she changed her mind and she wants much more now? Thanks for advice!
anto V. Artusa Jr.Divorce / Separation LawyerJersey City, NJ ·
You can challenge them as you do not need a lawyer to have a valid contract or agreement. Contracts occur everyday without attorneys. The question did she understand everything, was she pressured. Contact a local attorney asap as this will be a fight.
A post nuptial agreement must ( carefully drawn up, and yours probably did not pass muster. Spouses have a fiduciary duty to one another.
You should have had a lawyer then. You need one now.
Bernie Johannes KempenDivorce / Separation LawyerSan Francisco, CA ·
I regret to inform that there is a rebuttable presumption that agreements between spouses during marriage are considered to be under duress. This presumption can be rebutted if both parties were represented by counsel and entered into a written agreement specifically indicating that the party disadvantaged by the agreement understood that the characterIzation of the property/debt changes from separate to community or vice versa, or that some other Family Law applications have changed. The only lawsuits for conduct during marriage that may succeed would be under a tort theory, failure of accounting after demand or some other breach of fiduciary duty. Complex area of law. You should lawyer up.
You need to go and see a lawyer now. You should have seen one before you can up with an agreement without the assistance of lawyer and now want to complain about the fact that your wife had enough sense to engage counsel when she got ready to get divorced. It may be that some of what you agreed about will be binding but my guess is that very little will be helpful. Spouses owe each other a fiduciary duty not to take advantage of each other both while they are married and in some ways even more so once they separate. It appears you find it annoying and wrong for your wife to hire a lawyer so I cannot help but suspect that you are certain that what she agreed to was not what she is going to get and it is very likely you knew that when you were making the agreement. Your best bet is to stop acting like this is some sort of game in which you "sue her back." You respond to the Petition, with or without a lawyer, and file the paperwork you must and disclose what you must and the court will determine what is community property, divide it equally between the two of you and make whatever orders are appropriate as to support. Contrary to what some people believe, lawyers who practice family law almost always do whatever they reasonably can to settle their cases. Moreover, they all possess some level of skill in assisting their clients in going through what is a very challenging time in their lives. See an attorney and take some advice. You need it.
