What is the name of your state? Maryland
My husband and I separated over 6 years ago. For the first year, we stayed in contact and our separation was friendly. We decided to divorce, and upon my husband’s request, I hired an attorney in Maryland and drew up a settlement agreement. My lawyer emailed the documentation to my husband (he was living in Colorado at the time), he acknowledged its acceptance, and then ceased all communication with me and my lawyer.
After almost a year of no contact, my lawyer and I caught a lucky break and ‘a friend of a friend’ found out where he was living. We were able to serve him divorce papers to get things underway. There was a great sense of urgency because I had debt collectors from American Express calling me nearly every day. Unfortunately, during the “friendly” year of our separation, my husband charged $48K of expenses on an AMEX card that was issued in my name. He had originally been making payments on the card, but stopped after just a few months.
Although my husband had been served, he continued to ignore both me and the divorce proceedings. He was a ‘no show’ at the first hearing. Meanwhile, AMEX was still calling and my credit was in jeopardy. My lawyer and I decided to file a fraudulent charges application in hopes of buying me more time with AMEX, and we began analyzing the charges more closely. We eventually discovered a passport charge for someone who appeared to be my husband’s new wife. AMEX confirmed that my husband had remarried, so my lawyer subpoenaed his wife. My husband contacted me immediately.
My husband flew to Maryland within a day, and my lawyer drew up the paperwork. My husband signed over the deed to our house and agreed to the following payments:
My lawyer initially advised me to go after my husband for what he owed me. Unfortunately, she was unable to represent me, since I had not paid my attorney fees at that time. I now have enough money to pay an attorney, but I do not know if too much time has passed. Is there a statute of limitations on divorce agreements? If I still have time, is this worth pursuing? Is there any guarantee that I won’t just spend a lot of money on an attorney and still end up with nothing? Is there any way to force him to pay (especially if he doesn’t have a home to place a lien on or a job to garnish wages)? Does the fact that he remarried while still married to me help my case at this point?
I'm just not sure if it's worth it. Any advice you can give me would be great. Thanks!
My husband and I separated over 6 years ago. For the first year, we stayed in contact and our separation was friendly. We decided to divorce, and upon my husband’s request, I hired an attorney in Maryland and drew up a settlement agreement. My lawyer emailed the documentation to my husband (he was living in Colorado at the time), he acknowledged its acceptance, and then ceased all communication with me and my lawyer.
After almost a year of no contact, my lawyer and I caught a lucky break and ‘a friend of a friend’ found out where he was living. We were able to serve him divorce papers to get things underway. There was a great sense of urgency because I had debt collectors from American Express calling me nearly every day. Unfortunately, during the “friendly” year of our separation, my husband charged $48K of expenses on an AMEX card that was issued in my name. He had originally been making payments on the card, but stopped after just a few months.
Although my husband had been served, he continued to ignore both me and the divorce proceedings. He was a ‘no show’ at the first hearing. Meanwhile, AMEX was still calling and my credit was in jeopardy. My lawyer and I decided to file a fraudulent charges application in hopes of buying me more time with AMEX, and we began analyzing the charges more closely. We eventually discovered a passport charge for someone who appeared to be my husband’s new wife. AMEX confirmed that my husband had remarried, so my lawyer subpoenaed his wife. My husband contacted me immediately.
My husband flew to Maryland within a day, and my lawyer drew up the paperwork. My husband signed over the deed to our house and agreed to the following payments:
- $60K to American Express to settle the outstanding debt
- $4K to cover 50% of the lawyer fees
- $15K for charge card expenses incurred during the time of our separation
- $3.5K in quarterly payments for the next 5 years
My lawyer initially advised me to go after my husband for what he owed me. Unfortunately, she was unable to represent me, since I had not paid my attorney fees at that time. I now have enough money to pay an attorney, but I do not know if too much time has passed. Is there a statute of limitations on divorce agreements? If I still have time, is this worth pursuing? Is there any guarantee that I won’t just spend a lot of money on an attorney and still end up with nothing? Is there any way to force him to pay (especially if he doesn’t have a home to place a lien on or a job to garnish wages)? Does the fact that he remarried while still married to me help my case at this point?
I'm just not sure if it's worth it. Any advice you can give me would be great. Thanks!
