Divorce (Family Law)

I am not a lawyer, but each of your parents should get a lawyer ASAP.

Meanwhile, no one should sign anything.

Amph, while you have every reason to be concerned about the divorce and the ethics of the property settlement, this is not your business. Resist the temptation to become a listening ear, sounding board, buffer or ambassador.

Get out of the middle.

Good luck.

Thanks for your replies to this thread and previous ones.

I'm trying to be OBJECTIVE here. What are the legal issues around it.

What State do they live in?

In Canada actually, but any general answer would be sufficient.

Thanks

Since The Law varies from state to state and country to country there are no "General" answers this side of the grave.

A lawyer in your area is needed to interpret the law in your area.

Noddy24 is correct.

Let's say in California..

or Feel free to share your view of what would happen.

Andrew--

You invite us:



There isn't a judge in the country that would care what "my" view is. We are a nation of law--as is Canada. Without law, the family assets would either go to the spouse who hollered loudest or the spouse who hit hardest.

An adequate lawyer would point out that one of your parents signed his/her rights away in ignorance of the law which entitled that spouse to half the marital assets.

You can sign a paper--in front of a witness--that you have a "right" to drop out of school. Since the right you have asserted contradicts the law, you're going back to school.

Nor can you contract to break the law--

A contract between theives as to how to split the bounty is invalid.

A contract signed under duress CAN be declared invalid IF duress can be proven.

But if you just "could have" made a claim at the time and did not, you MAY very well have relinquished your ability to do so. The reason for contracts is to keep people from amending the deal later.

BUT EVERYBODY IS RIGHT--This is WHY we have lawyers.