Dallas, TX asked in Divorce for Texas

Q: Is my wife's attorney about to screw me over?

I'm representing myself at the moment until I save up enough money to hire an attorney in the next couple of weeks.

After submitting Answer of General Deniability & Counter Petition, my wife's divorce attorney emailed me proposing to schedule mediation to negotiate the divorce.

She says the court requires it, the mediation fee is split equally, and she has proposed two mediators.

Her attorney requested an asset/debt list from me in exchange for one from my soon to be ex-wife.

She's also saying we should waive exchanging financial info for now.

The only things we have are a couple of vehicles, a HUGE cash stock pile in my wife's bank account she acquired during our marriage and major credit card debt in my name also acquired during our marriage. The last convo I had with my wife before she hired an attorney was diving up the cash and debt. She doesn't want to divide her cash nor pay for any credit card debt.

Is the email from her attorney a trap?

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2 Lawyer Answers
John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
Answered
  • Frisco, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: The email from her attorney appears to be normal standard operating procedure. Most judges require mediation if the parties do not enter into an agreed decree of divorce without one.

You say your wife has control over a HUGE cash stockpile in her account. How huge? Huge is relative. Some people may consider $100,000 huge.

You say major credit card debt? How major? Some people consider $100,000 of credit card debt major.

What did you do with your earnings during the marriage? Why does she have a HUGE cash stockpile while you have none?

Why aren’t there other assets in your marital estate? People with HUGE stockpiles of cash typically own other stuff.

Who made the charges on the credit cards and for what? People with high credit card limits typically earn lots of money and own lots of stuff. It’s very hard to have major credit card debt without high limit credit cards.

Maurice Mandel II agrees with this answer

Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
Answered

A: Probably. And I like Mr. Frick's answers. Seems a little strange that your wife has all the cash and you have all the CC debt, and you cannot afford an attorney. Most Courts can order the spouse with all the money to pay attorney's fees for the other spouse with no money, although the male/female roles are usually reversed on this situation. You should see if you can find a local attorney to represent you on the possibility that your wife will pay the fees. Thank you for using Justia, Ask a Lawyer.

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