Divorce, debt recovery, complaint against my lawyer, flat issue

[irenechang]

Hi,
the judge who is handling my divorce case used a 60k debt which my exhusband had borrowed from my dad and my relative as a part of negotiation in order for me to take over our matrimonial resale flat which was bought two years ago. Yes I wanted to take over the flat so that my son and I got a roof. However this comes with a heavy price- sacrificing my dad and relative debts (60k) and bank penalty (10k).
This is so unfair, so i express my unhappiness with my lawyer. He just told me to get another lawyer and file a complaint against him if I want to. I'm so affected by his words and attitude and it's like adding salt to my wound.
Now I need to find another lawyer who can help me to appeal to make my exhusband to share the cost for transfer of name of our matrimonial flat which is around $10k and make my exhusband to pay 60k debt. Many had advice me to move on and just pay the 10k myself to wrap up my divorce case and just forgo the debt recovery issue. I feel injustice as my lawyer did not do a followup and did not help me to get the best outcome. I also need a lawyer to do the debt recovery for my dad and relative since it was not stated at the order of court that my exhusband no need to pay 60kdebt. Some lawyer which I had approached tell me they can write a letter of demand for a cost of 1-2k .for me this is useless as many banks and telcos ever send letters to exhusband to pay up, he just ignore and no one take action against him.

Can anyone out there advice me what should I do? My money is almost drained by this divorce case and my exhusband who never pay my son maintenance on time. I need a trustworthy lawyer who can really fight for the best outcome for me instead of just closing my case fast. They say is a matter of luck to find a good lawyer.

 

[miloice]

the flat belongs to both you and your divorcing husband, so legally, if you want to take over the flat, you have to agree with a settlement amount for it. Leveraging on the debt, your lawyer is able to propose a favorable agreement here. I don't understand which part do you find unfair?!? Effectively, with the agreement, you get to keep the entire flat. You are benefiting from it. The debt naturally will be something you will have to bear since you used it as a bargaining chip for the flat.

You just want both slices of the cake basically. All the things favorable to you and without having to pay for it.

 

[irenechang]

Yes some of the people may think like you, especially I did not mention much details in my previous post.
I do not agree using the debt as a bargaining chip and I was caught surprised when this was brought up during the court hearing. This debt is to pay for his investment stock debt. Moreover, he did not contribute much since the flat is newly purchased. I paid for the reno, providing my son needs,paying some of his debts, even give allowance to his parents.
Yes lawyer and judge says im benefiting from it. However I can only benefit if I sell the flat and get a lump of money. Which I did not as this serve as a roof for my son and nearby amenities also good for my son.

one of the reasons which I feel is unfair to me, is his contribution to the flat is much lesser than the debt he owe us.

On my side, I also need to pay those amount to my dad and relative but some feel its not necessary to do so.

 

[miloice]

The fact that you get to continue living in a flat that you only currently only own 50% of and to have 100% ownership of, its already CLEARLY benefiting you. You might not agree with it, that's another thing altogether. Even if it beneficial to you, you can decline the proposal. To say it is not fair to you, clearly, not the case.

Still the same line, you want all the good things only.

Be realistic, everything is about what you want, you want the flat, you want the convenience. Arguing on the flat that he contributed less isn't going to help. The flat is costing more than before, when you sell, you are going to pocket all of it. Legally when you are married, the property belongs to the both of you, the debt and finances and profits incurred in it are shared.

 

[miloice]

if everything is perfect, you wouldn't have divorce, isn't it? Make the best of the bad situation instead of insisting on things your way no matter if its feasible or not.

 

[Georgian]

If you think the division is unfair, then appeal the decision. Like any negotiation, we need to know what you want to get out of it, what you can accept. Lawyers will NOT think for you, the just take your instruction most of the time.
Fair or not fair, you know best, but what fair to you may not be fair to him, present your best case with fact and let the court decide