Should my lawyer be doing more?

[thelizzy]

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

I filed for divorce over six months ago and paid $600 up front to my lawyer, and an additional $150 since then.

All that has been done in that time is that my husband was served, and my lawyer and his have been playing back and forth about property settlement (maybe about four letters so far?). The rest of the time has been bugging his lawyer to get my husband to respond.

Should my lawyer be doing more? It's been six months and I'm no further to getting the divorce than I was in the beginning.

 

[Ohiogal]

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

I filed for divorce over six months ago and paid $600 up front to my lawyer, and an additional $150 since then.

All that has been done in that time is that my husband was served, and my lawyer and his have been playing back and forth about property settlement (maybe about four letters so far?). The rest of the time has been bugging his lawyer to get my husband to respond.

Should my lawyer be doing more? It's been six months and I'm no further to getting the divorce than I was in the beginning.

Well you have paid for approximately 3-5 hours of work at most. Was your husband served? For when is the hearing set?

 

[thelizzy]

Yes, my husband was served on April 21st. I filed April 14th.

No date for a trial was set.

 

[Ohiogal]

Yes, my husband was served on April 21st. I filed April 14th.

No date for a trial was set.

Well have your lawyer file for a trial date. What else do you want him to do? What else can you afford?

 

[thelizzy]

Honestly, nothing too much else. At this point, I just want something confirmed about what will happen with the mortgage (which I am sending him a letter addressing tomorrow), and as for debt division, well, I don't think I'm going to get anything. He's claiming being poor on his 60+K a year salary (vs. my 30K salary), and I'm forced to get debt consolidation on all of the marital debt in my name that I took with me when I moved out. He won't pay for any of it.

 

[mistoffolees]

Honestly, nothing too much else. At this point, I just want something confirmed about what will happen with the mortgage (which I am sending him a letter addressing tomorrow), and as for debt division, well, I don't think I'm going to get anything. He's claiming being poor on his 60+K a year salary (vs. my 30K salary), and I'm forced to get debt consolidation on all of the marital debt in my name that I took with me when I moved out. He won't pay for any of it.

Rely on what your attorney tells you, but in the circumstances you cited, you may be better off just letting a judge decide. Normally, a judge will decide that you each get half of the marital assets and half of the marital debt.

IF the two of you were able to work out an agreement that you were both happy with, that's probably better than rolling the dice with the judge. But since your stbx seems to be taking a completely unreasonable position, you probably have little to lose to simply throw it on the judge for a decision.

 

[seniorjudge]

...
At this point, I just want something confirmed about what will happen with the mortgage ...

Both y'all will stay on the mortgage and be liable for it, regardless of the judgment in your lawsuit.

 

[mistoffolees]

Both y'all will stay on the mortgage and be liable for it, regardless of the judgment in your lawsuit.

Yes, however, she should push for the judge to order the house sold if stbx can not refinance within xxx days. That's the only real way to avoid future problems.

 

[wolfthing2000]

I have been in the process now for 10 months.
3,000 dollars up front and another 9,000 along the way. She was served and all of the other time my lawyer spent was on a stack of letters to try and get settlement.
Nothing is settled.
You are more money in the bank than me and we are realy no different in progress.

Every piece of advice I have recieved is leading me to believe that it is best to pay the attorney to file for you write a proposal and then wait for the trial. Everything else is just wasted efforts. Speaking from my experience only.

 

[mistoffolees]

I have been in the process now for 10 months.
3,000 dollars up front and another 9,000 along the way. She was served and all of the other time my lawyer spent was on a stack of letters to try and get settlement.
Nothing is settled.
You are more money in the bank than me and we are realy no different in progress.

Every piece of advice I have recieved is leading me to believe that it is best to pay the attorney to file for you write a proposal and then wait for the trial. Everything else is just wasted efforts. Speaking from my experience only.

That may have been your experience, but others have different experience. My attorney was instrumental in getting the results I wanted. In particular, she was able to convince my ex's attorney that we'd be better off in mediation than trial and we resolved the issues without a trial - probably saving many thousands of dollars.

The best results will usually be obtained by a combination of:
1. Having a good attorney
2. Talking with the attorney about what matters to you and what doesn't - so the attorney can focus on what's important and drop the stuff that doesn't matter
3. Being somewhat flexible and not getting bogged down on silly things. It's not hard to find couples who fought over something they could easily have replaced - and run up legal expenses for 10 times the value. Watch 'War of the Roses'.
4. Mediation (either formal or informal with the attorneys) will usually cost less than a trial - and the two parties control the outcome rather than a judge who may make arbitrary decisions