Legal Question in Family Law in Rhode Island

I was divorced in July 2012 and have received the signed, final documents from the courts. My ex husband and I initialed every page of the document and we are in the process of separating marital assets per QDRO. He refuses to sign the signature guarantee and is arguing that it is not what he agreed to. He had a paid attorney represent him, he is college educated, earns a 6-figure income and this is a stalling tactic to continue to drag things out. He also refuses to pay for any of the kids extra curricular activities, even though our document states 50/50 split on those - he doesn't "feel" he has to contribute anything more than child support, which was adjusted down based on a shared time agreement - I am still paying all their expenses / needs even when they are with him. My income level w2 from last year was under $42K not including child support. What recourse do I have?


Asked on 3/02/13, 2:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Christopher Pearsall Law Office of Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire

You are asking numerous questions here and while I certainly would have no trouble answering those questions, neither I nor any other competent family law lawyer could truly answer your questions without considerably more detail, including a review of your Marital Settlement Agreement/Property Settlement Agreement, and preferably both the Interlocutory Decision Pending Entry of the Final Judgment (often just titled the "Decision Pending Entry of the Final Judgment") and the Final Judgment of Divorce. As a very cumulative practitioner I would want to see any Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO as you mentioned) in order to make sure you were advised on the most prudent possible avenues of recourse.

All of these documents substantially make a different in your rights, your ex-spouse's rights and your options/avenues of recourse. Without these documents any legal recourse here would be purely guessing by any attorney.

You have deeper than your average question for an online question board. You really need to have all these documents with you. Preferably they should be signed, certified copies from the court so the attorney can know that he or she can rely upon them when providing you the legal advice you are in need of.

As you know there are lots of experienced family law attorneys in Rhode Island. If you need an advice session and would like to contact me for a reasonably priced and comprehensive advice session based upon those documents, feel free to contact me.

I wish you all the best in your legal challenges. I know personally that these challenges are not easy and they can be very stressful no matter how amicable you may be.

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Answered on 3/02/13, 4:12 am


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