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Ask the Lawyer: It's time to move on with your life

    by Fred Gusoff
    Published 

By Stewart J. Berger

Dear Ask the Lawyer:

I hope you can help me.

About 1-1/2 years ago, I went through a divorce proceeding. I was in court. I told my lawyer I did not believe in divorce. I was ill the day of court, but I still went.

My lawyer, my wife's lawyer and the judge all met without my wife and myself.

The next thing I know, we placed an agreement on the record and I was divorced.

I want to know if there is any way that I can have this case reopened and have the divorce decree thrown out.

I also have no money to pay a lawyer.

What should I do?

Bart

Dear Bart:

At this point, whether you believe in divorce or not is irrelevant. Your wife has a right to a divorce if she is able to establish grounds for divorce, even if you do not agree.

If you were ill, you should have told your attorney that you did not wish to proceed at the court hearing.

At this point, I think your letter means you did not get enough money in the divorce and want to sue for more money. Based on the limited information you provided, I do not believe you have much of a chance of opening a divorce decree.

If there was actual fraud involved, then the situation may be different.

For example, suppose husband and wife were obligated to disclose their financial assets during the divorce negotiations. Your former wife stated she only had $50,000. You later discovered that she had hundreds of thousands of dollars that she did not disclose. This would likely be a reason to ask the court to reopen the case.

In your situation, you want the divorce decree opened because you do not believe in divorce and you were ill the day of the court hearing. And, you have no money to hire an attorney to represent you.

I don't give your argument any chance of success. I think you also need to examine your real motives and move on with your life.

Stewart J. Berger is an attorney with offices at 7207 Rising Sun Ave. Questions and comments may be addressed to Ask The Lawyer, c/o The Northeast Times, 2512 Metropolitan Drive, Trevose, PA 19053