Final Decree confusion

[drjsbach]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I was divorced on March 26, 2008 in Texas. While this is a community property state, my ex-spouse was commiting adultery. In turn, the ex-spouse sent me an e-mail stating that I could have everything. The decree was written that way, even though many items were given to my ex-spouse for which the person did not ask. I have 2 enforcement orders for failure to pay. I also won a judgment of over $30,000. The divorce was signed and not appealed. I have been simply trying to get my ex to pay the actual debts that were divided in the final decree. This includes payments on a vehicle awarded to the ex with the caveat of paying payments and refinancing by a specified time. I had to make the payments and the vehicle was not refinanced...I finally took possession of it and the ex stopped making all payments on any of the debts. I was willing to forego the judgment in order to simply get the debts paid.

My lawyer recently took the ex's deposition to try and find out if there are any assets. My ex commited perjury throughout the deposition and aggravated perjury (by filing false statements in a motion to quash). I was under the impression that I could now take my ex to court on contempt and file charges of perjury, etc. However, when I met with my lawyer, I was told that all she could now do is write a strongly worded letter. My ex tore up a court order to appear at the deposition in the courthouse in front of my lawyer. A strongly worded letter won't even be read. I was led to believe that we would be going back to court because when I mentioned that I thought my ex would most likely lie in the deposition, I was told "I'm counting on it." Is there something that I can do? Can we not file for Contempt of Court or even try to get the judge to clarify the divorce agreement to my ex-spouse? My ex seems to think that the Final Decree of Divorce ruling is "subjective."

Thanks!

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by drjsbach

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I was divorced on March 26, 2008 in Texas. While this is a community property state, my ex-spouse was commiting adultery. In turn, the ex-spouse sent me an e-mail stating that I could have everything. The decree was written that way, even though many items were given to my ex-spouse for which the person did not ask. I have 2 enforcement orders for failure to pay. I also won a judgment of over $30,000. The divorce was signed and not appealed. I have been simply trying to get my ex to pay the actual debts that were divided in the final decree. This includes payments on a vehicle awarded to the ex with the caveat of paying payments and refinancing by a specified time. I had to make the payments and the vehicle was not refinanced...I finally took possession of it and the ex stopped making all payments on any of the debts. I was willing to forego the judgment in order to simply get the debts paid.

My lawyer recently took the ex's deposition to try and find out if there are any assets. My ex commited perjury throughout the deposition and aggravated perjury (by filing false statements in a motion to quash). I was under the impression that I could now take my ex to court on contempt and file charges of perjury, etc. However, when I met with my lawyer, I was told that all she could now do is write a strongly worded letter. My ex tore up a court order to appear at the deposition in the courthouse in front of my lawyer. A strongly worded letter won't even be read. I was led to believe that we would be going back to court because when I mentioned that I thought my ex would most likely lie in the deposition, I was told "I'm counting on it." Is there something that I can do? Can we not file for Contempt of Court or even try to get the judge to clarify the divorce agreement to my ex-spouse? My ex seems to think that the Final Decree of Divorce ruling is "subjective."

Thanks!

Yes, you can file for your ex to be held in contempt.

You should ask your attorney for an explanation. It is possible that they're suggesting what is common practice rather than what is actually allowed. For example, in some jurisdictions, you could file for contempt and the first thing the judge will ask is "did you send a strongly worded letter?" and if you didn't, they reject it. Your attorney may know the judge involved and could be trying to tailor things to get the highest chance of success. But you'll need to find out why the attorney is suggesting that you can't file for contempt.

If you're not happy with the result, you could interview other attorneys. Since the decree is final, changing to a different attorney wouldn't be the end of the world.