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My Lawyer dropped the ball...

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Lucinda J

Guest
Hi.I am froM Indiana,StJoseph county to be exact.My problem is my ex and I split on Dec 7,2000,he physically abused me and I left. The legal aid foundation provided me with an atty...free of charge for the divorce.Well they took from Jan to Mar 23 to file my papers. I had contact with ex the whole time phone calls etc. He filed for divorce on Feb 7 and did not inform me. He lied to court sayong he did not know where I was. They published the summons and I never saw it. My lawyer filed my case on March 23, same court,same city. My first hearing was to be April 9.....in meantime he went to court and got final decree April 5,called my lawyer on the 6th and informed him.The decree did not change my name,gave each of us possesion of what we had with us......he has EVERYTHING.my clothes, personal belongings, everything I own. My lawyer says that I got what I wanted..the divorce and that we are going to send him a letter asking him to plz return my items...says its too expensive to go back into court.MY question is 1)can you get a divorce in 57 days.2)cant I do anything about him lying to court saying he didnt know where i was( he claimed on the praecipe that I was not pregnant and that I was employed..how would he know that if no contact) 3)would it worth a lawyer to continue with this??4) can I do anything about his atty considering I had made an appt with him and he had my phone number. 4) can i make him pay for this, I only make $158 a week he makes over $800???5) shouldnt the case be automatically reheard? Thank You
 


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dorenephilpot

Guest
In Indiana, you can give notice by publication, which is what it appears he did. HOWEVER, if his attorney knew your whereabouts and you can prove it, then he should have contacted you/mailed you papers.

You can get the agreement tossed, but it will be expensive.

Your wages won't matter to the court, unless there are children and support issues involved.

Were the two cases filed in the same court?

Yes, I think a letter suggesting that if he doesn't want to go back to court (and possibly have his lawyer spanked by the court) that he needs to return your personal possessions is probably the best way to go initially, given your circumstances.

And there is a minimum 60-day waiting period in Indiana from the date of filing to the finalization of the dissolution.

FYI, you have 30 days to give notice to the court that you wish to appeal a final judgment in a case like this. But appeals are expensive, much more expensive than the original case, because you have to order a copy of the record, and they make you pay about $1200 for it, not including attorney fees.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

 

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