Monroe, NY Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

You have the right to ask your attorney to provide an accounting of how he invoiced you for the initial retainer. Retainers are generally despoits, not flat fees for work, so if he expended more time on your case then he needs to account for that time and invoice you. You have the right to fire your lawyer and get a new lawyer or try and represent yourself (representing yourself may not be in your best interest and switching may cause delays). On a positive note, getting a contested divorce case resolved in 7 months is a good thing, as many New York divorces drag on much longer. If you are close to being finished, it may be better (ie. cheaper/faster) to keep pressing your lawyer to listen to what you want and settle the case. Also, spouses in a divorce are usually permitted to talk -- provided there is no court order preventing you from talking to your spouse, tell them you want to settle. This way your spouse can tell his/her lawyer and they can press your lawyer too.    Good luck!

Your pension is a marital asset to the extent it was earned during marriage. She is entitled to an equitiable share of that, which is generally an equal share.

You need to talk with a local attorney about all of the issues. You may not be entitled to spousal maintenance until after the case is finalized; however, you should be able to ask for him to pay the community bills until the divorce is final since he is making the money. However, there may be a way to get this accomplished quickly and an attorney will help you do that.