My husband and I got legal separation papers with property settlement signed before I actually moved out. The property agreement called for him to help acquire a house that was for sale for me. By the time the house purchase was closed, we had reconciled, and decided to renovate and sell the house we had acquired. We were in the process of that when he decided once again that divorce was what he wanted. It has been a year since the original separation papers were signed. I was wondering if the original agreement was still in effect, or if it voided them when we didn’t actually separate. His attorney, that drew up the papers, said that it was still a binding contract, that only the start date would change. If this is true, then I have no choice but to abide by them. I think the settlement of property was fair, we each have a house and a vehicle, but at the time I signed them, I was emotionally upset, and didn’t really give enough thought to my income. We have a 15 year old daughter which we will share custody, so no child support was given. I did not ask for alimony. We are self-employed in a business that he started before we were married. I agreed in a pre-nuptial agreement that I would not take any of the business in the event of divorce. I have been on payroll for only 3 months. I needed to have verifiable income to acquire a mortgage on my house, in my name only. I asked him to leave me on payroll for 1 year so I could try to get back on my feet. I worked in our business full time doing the bookkeeping for 17 years. I never took a paycheck because it didn’t seem necessary, as we were a family. My question is: do I have any right to ask for that? Since I didn’t ask in the original separation agreement, do I have any legal way to ask now? I’m not trying to be unreasonable, my salary would come to 25,000 per year if I stayed on payroll for the full year. Being alone, without a job, I am trying to budget as best I can. If I know this is impossible, I won’t even make the initial appointment with an attorney of my own.
Your answer will be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
It depends on what the agreement says with respect to reconciliation though typically, if it is not stated otherwise the agreement remains binding and enforceable. You may file an action for child support however, so long as the Agreement does not state that child support is to be set at $0.00 (ie: if it is silent with respect to the support).