Settlement agreement overturned?

J

jameswift

New member
Was Divorced in the summer of 2013 after a 3 year no children marriage.

I did not have a lawyer and the ex-wife did. We came to a settlement agreement hours before appearing before a JCC in front of a judge.

While in court, her lawyer and I signed an agreement that was to be final and I even handed a bank draft for a lump sum payout right then and there.

All was well, and I never heard anything again after that. Divorce was finalized and completed with the court.

Fast-forward to a few days ago...

I get a text message from the ex saying she would like to speak with me.

I respond saying there is nothing I wish to discuss and to not contact me.

THEN...

She says she has recently met with her lawyer again and her accountant and just wanted to talk as it is very important and she would like to give me a heads up.



I am not sure what my question is but the main question is if we are divorced and the settlement was executed in good faith, what could possibly be coming my way?

Talking to her is also not an option because I don't trust her nor am I geographically able to meet her (I've moved since the divorce)
 
My divorce was final in 2010 but that hasn't kept my ex from taking me back to court 8 times to have the whole thing overturned (he has been unsuccessful every time).

Change in material circumstances. That would be the basis for her trying to alter an agreement (presuming that is what she is doing). Hopefully you gave full financial disclosure at the time you signed the agreement.
 
What I have trouble understanding is where there would even be a right to a claim on her end?

At the time, I gave her all the financials that I could and I was honest. I said if you think I'm hiding something please be my guest and prove otherwise but we ended up with a lump sum settlement after.

I don't see what they would have access to since there was no ongoing support etc. The only situation that changed with me is that I did remarry and I now have a job (I did not before).
 
was there a pension that had to be valuated or anything like that?? The fact that she has an accountant involved makes me think that something wasn't figured out correctly and she wants to revisit it.

All you can do is either talk to her or wait until whatever papers come your way. The you have to decide is it worth fighting or if there is anything to fight.
 
I agree - you just have to wait it out and see what she comes up with. When you find out post on here again.

I just re-read your posts. You were in a short marriage, no kids and made an agreement with her lawyer hours before scheduled conference with judge. You paid the agreed-upon settlement amount.

I really wouldn't get very worried.

Good to hear that you got a job and landed on your feet!
 
Thank you for your comments and also I want to say thank-you so much to many of you on this forum as when some of us are faced with the emotional charges of divorce proceedings, this forum can really help greatly!

I will be sure to keep you posted about the issue as it unfolds.

Thanks about the job! If I work hard for a few years I will be out of debt and in a decent position so I know I'm really lucky.
 
All this makes one think hard about whether marriage is in essence a sham, a boon for the lawyers, who make out like bandits during (and after) divorces.
 
Well if your not married your commonlaw so it has to boil down to an evolution of society. Good thing is were not done yet.
 
UPDATE:

Without getting into too much detail, I found out the details behind the reason for the claim.

During our time together, I was the higher income earner. As a result of this, there was an income split during the 3.5 years we were together.

We ended the relationship at the beginning of 2012 and legally divorced in 2013.

Her claim is that in in April of 2012, when I had filed my taxes for the previous year, 2011, it was filed as joint (which makes sense since we were still together for the entire 2011).

I paid my taxes owing as I was self employed and carried on with my life. The gross and net amount are comparable for national averages of income if that makes a difference.

I have not yet had a chance to take a look at my tax returns to confirm her claim but her concern is that her accountant found this recently (that we were income splitting) and now she is claiming that I owe her a bunch of money.

Would this be for back taxes?
If this was in the 2011 year, we are now into 2014 and it was caught now?
The divorce was settled out of court in 2013 however we still met with a judge and her lawyer in a courtroom to finalize the process and the divorce was finalized and granted.

The lawyer claims to her there is a case.

I am not trying to evade anything but I paid a lump sum out at the time that was more than fair and I believe that should be enough to cover everything.

That said, the lump sum amount did not stipulate what it was to cover. It was just a lump sum all encompassing settlement (or so I thought).

I don't want to get emotional about this and look at it for what it is. I am NOT in a position to be paying more money. I won't give a sob story because I know many of you probably have it worse.

Is there anything I should be looking for in the divorce documentation and in my accounting statements to see if this has any validity?
 
Sounds like she is trying to re-argue a matter that was decided upon. Judges generally don't like that - waste of court time.

I'd let her spend the money to retain a lawyer and take you to court if she thinks she has a case. She will have to submit a very detailed affidavit laying our her position before you respond. This will be a lengthy process and an expensive one for her.
 
Sounds to me like she may not have filed her taxes properly for 2011 after you split up, and now Revenue Canada is coming after her or something?

Her lawyer is probably convincing her that she has a chance because when she signed the agreement and took the lump sum from you, she didn't know her taxes were wrong, so she couldn't have been signing off on that.

But I agree that she has to provide you with her side's affidavit and reasoning for why you may still owe her money before anything else happens. So I wouldn't waste time and stress wondering about it before you get that documentation.
 
That sounds like good advice.

In your experience why would someone even bother with something like this?

Why would a lawyer even bother with this? It seems like a lot of work for very little.

My income for that year gross was about $90,000 and net was probably much closer to $60,000.

The taxes I had paid that year were in the range of about $3,500 so if there was an income split I would think the most hers would be is the same.

She is saying she is going to go to CRA and have them look into the last 5 years of statements which makes no sense to me. It seems like the previous agreement is being viewed as "not enough".

Isn't that her lawyer's fault for not doing things correctly? I had provided the previous 2 years NOA, returns, Form F8 and everything. I wasn't trying to hide anything at all.

My thoughts are that when the previous lump sum was given, it helped out, but they have likely run out of money again, and they are looking at how to get more money again.
 
jameswift said:
In your experience why would someone even bother with something like this?

Why would a lawyer even bother with this? It seems like a lot of work for very little.
Click to expand...


In my personal experience it simply comes down to a few things:

1. Lawyer blows smoke up someone's arse and convinces the person they have a chance in winning. Lawyer makes money whether client wins or loses.

2. Person initiating the litigation is having a difficult time accepting the finality of the relationship. Often they become "addicted" to the drama and excitement of litigation.

3. Because they can. They are extremely unhappy and don't want you to succeed in your new life without them.
 
Here's your ex's thought process right now. OMG, RCA wants $3500 from me and it's jameswift's fault! But this lawyer says that he can get the money out of jameswift for me, and I won't have to pay any legal fees because the lawyer says that if jameswift fights it in court, he'll pay my costs when I win.
 
I got a hold of my documents from the hearing/divorce.

Final Order
Before Judge xxxxxxxx

One section says:

<By consent, the claimant, shall forthwith pay the respondent, $xxxxxx in full and final satisfaction of the claims for spousal support, occupational rent, and property division.>


Not sure if that means anything but figured I'd throw it out there.

As well, I looked over my most recent financial statements

A copy of the last 3 years NOA/Tax Returns/T1 Generals were sent to respondent's council well in advance of meeting with the Judge.


I am not a lawyer (which may be the problem) but I am having a difficult time seeing how any such claim would have any substance at all.
 
jameswift said:
...
Without getting into too much detail, I found out the details behind the reason for the claim.

During our time together, I was the higher income earner. As a result of this, there was an income split during the 3.5 years we were together...

...I paid my taxes owing as I was self employed and carried on with my life. The gross and net amount are comparable for national averages of income if that makes a difference...
Click to expand...

How old are you, and what do you mean by "income-split"? Doesn't sound like a pension income split then. Sounds like you were self-employed, and were setting aside part of that income to her, as her own income?
 
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