If the paralegal who oversaw the divorce did not ask for financial documentation before filing, can I reopen the case?

Dear Anonymous: Florida law requires that both parties either file a financial affidavit with Court, or, if there are no children, Florida Family Law Rule 12.285  provides that: Upon agreement of the parties and filing of a notice of joint verified waiver of filing financial affidavits, the court shall notrequire that financial affidavits be filed. In the notice, both parties must acknowledge:(A)that evidence of their current or past financial circumstances may be necessary for future court proceedings;(B)they each have provided the other with a fully executedand sworn financial affidavit in conformity with FloridaFamily Law Form12.902(b) or 12.902(c), as applicable;(C) that the responsibility to retain copies of all affidavits exchanged rests solely with the parties;(D) that the waiver only applies to the current filing and does not automatically apply to any future filings; and(E)that the waiver may be revoked by either party at anytime. If they did not comply with this rule and file the notice of waiver of affidavits as set forth above, there are certainly grounds to try and set the divorce settlement aside.  It would be best to have the actual papers reviewed by an attorney.  The law is not clear if the waiver may be revoked after there is a final judgment,  or what your mother would be seeking to modify from the final judgment, but know that a divorce may be sent aside for fraud, and there is no limitation on how long after a divorce is finalized that it can be set aside for a fraudulent financial affidavit.  It would be interesting if your father claimed he did give your mother a financial affidavit, but I guess he'd have to produce it too.  Seems there are several grounds to attack the judgment worth exploring. Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Family Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward/Miami-Dade : 954-316-3496 Palm Beach/Boca Raton:  561-962-2785