Need some assistance. My mom’s divorce decree states her ex-husband is suppose to pay her $1300/month alimony for 13 yrs of marriage. He stopped paying in Feb 2012. We have tried to contact him to no avail and went through the firm her attorney from her divorce to send a letter stating we will be taking legal action if he did not start paying. Again no response. Now the law firm is asking for $2500 upfront to pursue the matter and $350/hr to talk to her attorney and $125 for the paralegal. At this point my mother has no money, been unable to pay her bills and is not able to come up with funds they are asking. Is there any other action we can take? Legal aid? Payments plan? Something? Any help would be greatly appreciated. On a side note, my mother does not work, was out of country when this happened so not only did she not have the money to pay for her ticket here, she does not have it to pay to get back home.
To obtain the relief your mom deserves, it sounds like she will have to take court action. Whether she can find a lawyer to work with her on a payment plan or for a lower hourly rate may be possible, but she will have to call around and ask about fees. She might be able to find someone who would do a part contigency fee as well. I do not believe that legal aid provides services for recoupment of alimony, but you could contact them and see if they have a referral for another pro bono attorney.