Question:

I just recently agreed on child support and spousal support. I settled out of court with my ex-wife and her attorney. However, I didn't have an attorney and now I feel like I was taken advantage of.

I don't have the money for an attorney but I feel like I should have one look over my papers to see if I was steamrolled.

Is it too late at this point?

Answer:

As you did not have an attorney advise you during the divorce, you should have an experienced family law attorney review your judgment and advise you as to any issues with the terms of the agreements.

The timeframes for appeal, reconsideration, or other relief from your agreement vary by state and a review by a qualified attorney will be necessary to ascertain whether your agreement can be re-opened.  

Even if the original agreement can not be re-opened, the laws of your state may allow for future reviews of the child and spousal support obligations at certain intervals or under certain circumstances.

While the legal fees in a divorce may be a concern, particularly during a period when time and money are being stretched to deal with the dissolution of the marriage and its impact upon the family, an unfair divorce judgment will have long term costs that will outweigh the upfront cost of quality legal representation.  Hopefully, if there are any problems with your agreements, you will have options under the laws of your state to remedy the issues.

Richard Coffee is a Litigation Manager in the Belleville Illinois office of Cordell & Cordell. He is an experienced divorce attorney whose practice is devoted to domestic litigation. He is licensed in the State of Illinois and is admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Courts for Northern, Central and Southern Illinois.

Mr. Coffee has extensive domestic litigation trial experience representing clients in courts throughout Illinois on all aspects of domestic litigation, including the representation of clients who are current or retired military personnel with issues under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act and the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act, clients involved in state court jurisdictional disputes due to the relocation of one or both parties from or to Illinois, and clients with government or private pension benefit valuation and division issues.