can an alimony waiver be reversed? please help

[shoein]

What is the name of your state? CA

my parents were married 25 years, lived together for 18 of those years and had 4 daughters. he left after having an affair and when my dad moved out, he left all 4 of us with our mom. he didn't pay a single penny of child support for a good 3 or 4 years. and didn't pay any alimony. my mom's financial situation was always precarious and she was growing in debt struggling to raise all of us on her own. in 1998, after continually badgering my mother, he had his attorney draw up the divorce papers and insisted she sign. she had no counsel at the time; she had no attorney to review the documents. she didn't even fully understand what she signed but b/c she wanted him to stop harrassing her, she signed. unfortunately, the agreement was completely biased in favor of my father and it included a complete waiver in alimony. since then, my mother's health has deterioriated and she has been barely scraping by and has been in a deadly cycle of borrowing money from from friends/family to survive. granted, it's almost 10 years later but when she was going through the divorce, i was away at college and she had no one that could support her and help her think clearly through the situation. she is a korean immigrant and barely speaks and read english. when my parents immigrated to the states, he took english classes at night school while she worked. my father is very wealthy and has since remarried the woman he had an affair. he refuses to give a dime of alimony due to the waiver that my mother signed as part of the divorce settlement.

needless to say, this is a tragedy. my mom cannot even afford her health insurance and has fallen back in payments. she's currently uninsured and can not afford to buy the medication she needs to control her blood pressure - it's scary. and now that i am nearly 30 years old and an adult, a mother and wife, i feel that i need to somehow rectify this if at all possible. if anyone can give me any advice whatsoever, it would much appreciated. i don't have high hopes that my mother has anything she can do. i feel that my mother signed the divorce papers under true duress and did not have any counsel to review on her behalf. i feel that the details of her divorce and the extenuating circumstances could give her grounds to file a lawsuit to appeal the original settlement based on the arrangement derived by my father and his attorney. however, we still need to consult with an attorney. i thought i'd get some thoughts through this forum first, just to see if it's worth getting a lawyer to review our situation....

by the way i also want to add that she has no skills to find an adequate job to support herself. due to her poor health, she cannot do anything labor intensive; however, due to her poor english speaking, reading, and writing, she cannot get a decent "office" job either. she really is stuck. she is basically unable to support herself. my father on the otherhand is a very successful businessman who owns multiple businesses. he has the ability to support my mother in very modest terms. however, i realize this does not give my mother legal grounds to have the courts force my dad to support her, simply b/c he can.

any thoughts would be great. thanks again -

[LdiJ]

You need to take your mother to get a consult with a local attorney. I honestly don't know if there is anything that can be done, but a face to face discussion with a local attorney is most likely to be the way to get the best information.

In addition, if your mother's health is truly bad, then see whether or not she might qualify for Social Security Disability, not necessarily based on her own work history, but based on your father's work history (that is permitted in a divorce situation). There are attorneys that specialize in helping with that.

[shoein]

thanks so much LdiJ. i think i will find an attorney and discuss.

anyone else have any thoughts?

again, thank you all for your time -

[nextwife]

How old is she? Is she of social security age? If so has she applied for retirement social security based upon HIS record? After a marriage of 10 or more years, she would be entitled to SS if she has not remarried, based upon his SS credits.

[seniorjudge]

Alimony waivers cannot generally be reversed.

Courts actually like to have an end to litigation in lawsuits.

[shoein]

no, she is not of SS age yet.

however, when she does reach of age, can she receive SS benefits based on my father's credits? how would she apply for these benefits?

is there any room to argue based on the fact that my mother did not have counsel at the time the divorce papers were signed?

[Golfball]

At this point, (10 years after the papers are signed), it would be very very difficult (if at all possible) to reverse the alimony waiver on the grounds you state, and it can be argued that even if there was a breach, the statute of limitations has long since run out.

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by shoein

no, she is not of SS age yet.

however, when she does reach of age, can she receive SS benefits based on my father's credits? how would she apply for these benefits?

is there any room to argue based on the fact that my mother did not have counsel at the time the divorce papers were signed?

In this particular case, I would get an attorney and fight hard that your father pulled the wool over your mother's eyes due to the fact she can't read or speak english very well. It's worth a try.

[Bloopy]

Originally Posted by Bali Hai

In this particular case, I would get an attorney and fight hard that your father pulled the wool over your mother's eyes due to the fact she can't read or speak english very well. It's worth a try.

Bali, I'm so proud of you!

[tuffbrk]

Originally Posted by Bali Hai

In this particular case, I would get an attorney and fight hard that your father pulled the wool over your mother's eyes due to the fact she can't read or speak english very well. It's worth a try.

Who are you and what did you do with Bali?! Geez - guess it's gonna snow... and I hate to drive in the snow!




/hijack - sorry....

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by tuffbrk

Who are you and what did you do with Bali?! Geez - guess it's gonna snow... and I hate to drive in the snow!




/hijack - sorry....

Maybe that snow will slow you down!!

Jersey drivers are the most agressive and inconsiderate drivers in the nation. They shouldn't be allowed to drive anything bigger than a mo-ped.

When I see a driver acting in a dangerous manner, more times than not the vehicle has Jersey plates on it!! Just ask your Governor.

[StampGirl]

Originally Posted by Bali Hai

In this particular case, I would get an attorney and fight hard that your father pulled the wool over your mother's eyes due to the fact she can't read or speak english very well. It's worth a try.

LOL Bali AGREEING with someone to seek out spousal support??????!!!!!!

Hell must have frozen over... oh and wait.. I see pigs flying outside my office window!! ha ha

just teasing ya Bali

[tuffbrk]

Originally Posted by Bali Hai

Maybe that snow will slow you down!!

Jersey drivers are the most agressive and inconsiderate drivers in the nation. They shouldn't be allowed to drive anything bigger than a mo-ped.

When I see a driver acting in a dangerous manner, more times than not the vehicle has Jersey plates on it!! Just ask your Governor.

Yeah, good old Governor Corzine. He'll never live that accident down! Did you hear he wants to charge you NY'ers when you come to Jersey from Staten Island? Yup. Plans for a toll booth at the end of the Outerbridge Crossing. Don't feel bad - at the rate they're going we'll have toll booths at the end of our driveways any day now.

As for drivers - it's all of you NY'ers. If there aren't traffic lights to speed to and then come to a screeching halt at, you get confused. Everytime there's a pile up on the Turnpike or Parkway you'll find a confused NY'er in the middle lane! Shop at home and give us a break already!

Thanks for the smile by the way...

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by tuffbrk

Yeah, good old Governor Corzine. He'll never live that accident down! Did you hear he wants to charge you NY'ers when you come to Jersey from Staten Island? Yup. Plans for a toll booth at the end of the Outerbridge Crossing. Don't feel bad - at the rate they're going we'll have toll booths at the end of our driveways any day now.

As for drivers - it's all of you NY'ers. If there aren't traffic lights to speed to and then come to a screeching halt at, you get confused. Everytime there's a pile up on the Turnpike or Parkway you'll find a confused NY'er in the middle lane! Shop at home and give us a break already!

Thanks for the smile by the way...

That's because there is speeding Jersey vehicles on both sides of us and won't let us change lanes!!!

You're welcome.