Can my ex get our martial agreement voided because he now says he was suffering from bipolar disorder during the negotiating of our agreement? He says he was hospitalized the week after the judgement, but I know for a fact he was not and according to our EOBs he was not. I had no idea he was bipolar or seeing a doctor during our marriage. I only knew he was seeing a doctor because he was addicted to pain meds and was taking suboxone. He is saying I hid assets and lied about my retirement account too, but he was in contact with the administrator direct for the account balances. This is how we handled the agreement on our own. I did show everything and he communicated regularly with the accountant we have used for years to go over all our accounts. He is angry that I no longer communicate with him regarding our child except through email as he harasses via text and cell so I blocked him. We agreed on everything and now I feel he is only harassing me because he is mad and he has spent a lot his share of money. Does he have a chance of getting it vacated? There are no supporting documents with his motion, only that he is saying he has bipolar and I hid assets. Thank you.
unless and until you receive a motion to vacate the judgement, then there is nothing to do.
if and when you get such a motion, then go back to the lawyer who represented you in the divorce to represent you in the motion.
If he has filed a motion, he is entitled to have it heard and you should be filing a response. If you had an attorney representing you, then you should talk to that attorney who knows the facts of the case. If you did not have an attorney, you probably need to get one. Don't need to always attach supporting documents to motion, but you do have to be able to prove the allegations made in the motion. Also, since more than 30 days have past since entry of judgment, motion is more difficult to win.
Specifically, if it's been more than 30 days since the divorce, he has to file a pleading to vacate in compliance w/ 735 ILCS 5/2-1401. It has to be served to you via certified mail or by the sheriff, as it's a supplemental pleading. In it, he has to allege a) fraud, b) duress, or c) mutual mistake. The most common one is fraud. Caselaw requires due diligence on his end, meaning he tried to find it during the discovery process (using reasonable efforts) but failed.
You'll need an attorney for this. Talk to one for specific guidance. Best of luck.
Michael Scott SchiffmanFamily Law AttorneyHinsdale, IL ·
From the limited information you provide, I believe it may be difficult for your ex to succeed and vacate the judgment - the burden for doing so becomes higher after 30-days. But you will need to vigorously and competently defend against his motion. I would STRONGLY encourage you to retain an experienced family law attorney to represent you with this matter, as these issues can be quite complex.
