Advice, suggestions

[mrmagoo]

What is the name of your state? VA

A good friend is going through a divorce. Initially, he agreed to a separation and property settlement agreement stipulating a rather generous spousal support and even larger child support amount (almost twice VA guidelines) for the sake of trying to see if the effort would save his marriage.

However, the wife still wants a divorce and my friend will be penniless if VA decides to base the divorce on those guidelines. A couple of small town lawyers are telling him there's nothing he can do but my friend wants to know if the divorce has to be based on the terms of the agreement which he now knows is more than he can chew or can the spousal support and alimony be adjusted by the judge who will be handling his case.

Please any advice that I can pass along to him would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? VA

A good friend is going through a divorce. Initially, he agreed to a separation and property settlement agreement stipulating a rather generous spousal support and even larger child support amount (almost twice VA guidelines) for the sake of trying to see if the effort would save his marriage.

However, the wife still wants a divorce and my friend will be penniless if VA decides to base the divorce on those guidelines. A couple of small town lawyers are telling him there's nothing he can do but my friend wants to know if the divorce has to be based on the terms of the agreement which he now knows is more than he can chew or can the spousal support and alimony be adjusted by the judge who will be handling his case.

Please any advice that I can pass along to him would be helpful. Thanks!

If he signed an agreement it may very well be too late to rescind it....particularly if its already been submitted to the court. A local attorney, who can actually see exactly where things stand is a better source of information.

 

[mrmagoo]

He understands that is too late to rescind that agreement, he just wanted to know if the divorce has to be totally based on that agreement (because if so he is screwed) or it is just a guideline and a judge will order reasonable spousal support and child support based on proper guidelines.

I was in a similiar situation (GA), in that my ex and I signed a fair and equitable separation agreement but she went back and forth agruing that she didn't like the terms of it when it came time to our divorce. It turned out that the divorce incorporated some of the terms of the separation agreement and a lot of adjusted to appease my ex-wife. I wasn't familiar with VA or how its courts handled that. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[LdiJ]

He understands that is too late to rescind that agreement, he just wanted to know if the divorce has to be totally based on that agreement (because if so he is screwed) or it is just a guideline and a judge will order reasonable spousal support and child support based on proper guidelines.

I was in a similiar situation (GA), in that my ex and I signed a fair and equitable separation agreement but she went back and forth agruing that she didn't like the terms of it when it came time to our divorce. It turned out that the divorce incorporated some of the terms of the separation agreement and a lot of adjusted to appease my ex-wife. I wasn't familiar with VA or how its courts handled that. Thanks again for your advice.

An agreement is an agreement, it is not a guideline. It is a "contract" more or less. Just because you let your ex off the hook for the original signed agreement doesn't mean that his stbx will do the same.

Again, a local attorney is a better source of advice. A local attorney will be better able to judge whether or not things are at a stage where changes are still possible.

 

[nextwife]

If the divorce is not final, he should consult an attorney to file to ammend the filing before final agreement. If he was paying this as an independent SEPERATION agreement, he may not be obligated to continue this forever. He NEEDS an attorney, but an agreement is NOT ncecessarilly a court order.

 

[Bali Hai]

If the divorce is not final, he should consult an attorney to file to ammend the filing before final agreement. If he was paying this as an independent SEPERATION agreement, he may not be obligated to continue this forever. He NEEDS an attorney, but an agreement is NOT ncecessarilly a court order.

And the husband doesn't have to agree to anything.

If he thinks he can win his wife back by giving her the farm, he has more problems than the divorce action.

 

[LdiJ]

And the husband doesn't have to agree to anything.

If he thinks he can win his wife back by giving her the farm, he has more problems than the divorce action.

Bali, he ALREADY agreed. The question is whether or not its too late for him to rescind the agreement.