Washington Divorce Legal Questions

I don't know what an MSA is. If the court entered a parenting plan - which is requirement to finalize the divorce, both of you must follow it. If he has violated it, you may have a basis to file a motion for contempt. Whether or not there is a basis for modification is a different question. You have to show a change of circumstances to be able to file a modification.... Read Answer

You are entitled to a portion of your husband's military retirement. You are also entitled to spousal support for a period of time. How long depends on many factors including the percentages by which the marital assets and debts are divided. The child is entitled to child support which is calculated based on each parent's income. Thus he will pay the majority of it. Get a lawyer, this is not a case to try to do on your own. It is also a case where a court could well order that he pay a portion of your attorney's fees.... Read Answer

First, you are required by law to disclose all debts and assets in a divorce. If the debts were yours prior to the marriage, they should go with you in the divorce. The creditor will not go after your husband if these were yours prior to the marriage. If the debts include student loans, they will always go with you in a divorce, but they can't be discharged in bankruptcy. You need to consult with a bankruptcy lawyer to assess whether the order in which you pursue these law suits makes any difference at all.... Read Answer

Unless your decree (property settlement) provided for maintenance to be adjusted, it can usually not be adjusted unless the party receiving maintenance marries. Look at your decree and see what it says. Your child support has presumably gone down if the older kids have left home. Dividing your income by the number of people in the family is not useful as the cost of maintaining a household is more complex than that and child support is a separate issue than maintenance. When a child leaves home, expenses don't actually go down by the percentage of the people in the household he represents. The mortgage stays the same and most of the utilities change only minimally. Really all that goes down is food and clothing for that child. Check your documents and you'll have the answer to your question.... Read Answer

After all this time, there is no basis for her to say she needs support. Nor does he seem to be in a position where he has the ability to pay. All assets need to be divided. However, if he has had the furniture for the last seven years and an old car, it may not be worth it to divide them. Just allocate the stuff to whoever has it. If there was nothing else, and no debt, she can probably even file for a divorce in the state she's in.... Read Answer

Don't drop the case unless you are moving back in with her, because it would invalidate the temporary order. Child support is the legal right of the child and the court has to order it. The divorce will deal with the division of bills, but they are a separate issue from child support. So finish the case, to assure you will have access to the kids, take responsibility for their support and get your assets and debts divided.... Read Answer

You can send a letter stating the date by which she was to remove her belongings (I assume this was in a court order) and the fact that it is now past that date. Give her a date (about 10 days) by which to remove the things and then state that you will dispose of them if she does not remove them by that date. If the deadline was one you and not the court set, go to court on a motion to compel and ask the court to order her to remove her stuff by a certain date.... Read Answer

First, you need a domestic violence protection order based on his violence toward you. You should have called the police immediately if he violated the DVPO. Second, if the car was bought during the marriage, it belongs to both of you. If you want it, you need to file for a dissolution and then make a motion for temporary orders and ask the court for use of the car. It is unlikely that you will get alimony after such a short marriage. If the child at issue is his, he will have to pay child support and will you. The transfer payment goes to the person who has the child the majority of time.... Read Answer

As a resident of the US I assume from Michigan you can divorce her here without her permission because Michigan is a No-fault divorce state. However I am not sure if India will accept a Michigan/US divorce. A divorce here will not affect YOUR US immigration status as H1B holder (temporary residence permit) .. only hers since she would no longer be eligible for a H4 visa. However a domestic violence report against you may affect your chances at obtaining permanent residency (and eventually citizenship) here in the US if that is a possibility for you . Your son's status as a US citizen could complicate things.. so is your son here with you or in India with her? You neglected to say. I recommend consulting a good attorney familiar with both immigration and family law.... Read Answer

Did the attorney send you monthly bills? If so the amount left from your retainer would be reflected in the last bill. If he/she owes you this money you will probably get it back during the September billing cycle since there may have still been some clean up in August. In most offices, the bill for August would go out in mid- September.... Read Answer

The statute of limitations depends on the state which issued the decree in 1997. His last payments for alimony would have been 2000. It is unlikely that 14 years later you can still recoup that money, but look at the statutes in that state. His current job is irrelevant. You should have gone to court while the money was due to you, not waited this long.... Read Answer