Q: My soon to be ex wife has sent me a divorce complaint. I don't have a problem with anything in complaint.
She also sent me a letter for me to sign saying I do not contest whats written in the complaint and also that I wave the time I'm aloud to respond to this complaint. My problem and question is if I sign this letter can she go and change the complaint since she would have my signature saying I'm not contesting the Divorce. Or would I have to sign off on the final judgment which would include her complaint to see if anything has been changed. This is what concerns me.
Thank you,
Greg
A: The problem is what is in her request for judgment and whether you have all potential disputes resolved. If you have any outstanding disputes (child custody/support, alimony, equitable distribution of assets and/or debts), then you have to be very, very careful about what you sign. You should probably schedule a consultation with a competent divorce and family law attorney to consider your circumstances and the language contained in the complaint and the waiver that you have been asked to sign, before you sign anything.
A: You need to sit down with a divorce lawyer to understand the legal terminology contained in the complaint and whether it is acceptable to you. Recently, a consultation showed me a settlement agreement, she signed and wanted to know if there was any problems with it. As we went line by line through it, it was clear that she had no real understanding of many of the terms contained in it or how those terms impacted her - instead she focused on specific items that she and her spouse had discussed and thought that the language items I pointed out to her were simply boilerplate. When I explained to her the legal significance of those words, she realized that she needed to slow down the process and make sure that she understood the meaning of all of those terms and the impact of those terms on her.
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