Can anyone answer this .

[ArCpa]

Back in 2003 , I filed for divorce from my wife. Living in Arkansas, I moved out of the house and  paid all the bills because we had a 1 yr old daughter. My wife hired an attorney to represent him in the divorce. In feb 2004, my wifes attorney filed a judgement against her , she owed him a balance of 325.00 , she never paid him.. So in May of 2007 , he refiled the judgement before the SOL ran out, but this time included me on the judgement. I new nothing about it, they dont have to serve you in Arkansas, On 9/20/2011 , I received an alert  from my credit service, stating there was a new judgement reporting from 2007. So i went to the courthouse and they told me what attorney filed it. I went to his office, and he stated he could not find her , and he wanted his money,and I have a successful business , so a lot of people know me. He told me if I paid him 610.00 , the original 325.00 plus interest,. In arkansas a judgement earns 6 % per yr., he said he would have his secretary type up a motion to dismiss. Well i paid him and the next day , he called and said he couldnt have it dismissed. Thank goodness it only reported to TU ,My TU fico scored drop from 840 to 720, I called TU Legal dept,  My attorney's partner sued them a few yrs ago and won and the he has a list of all head people at TU, So I call TU and fax over a copy of the now paid judgement, and explain the problem and  told her my attorney stated the originall judgement started in 2004 not 2007 or 2011. She called me back 3 days later and said she called the courthouse and they told her that it was a paid judgement and that was it. While i was on the phone with her I faxed her a copy of the lawsuit i filed against the lawyer who I paid the 610.00 , even though it had nothing to do with me. And told her I have no problem suing TU, If they didnt corrrect the matter. she stated all she could do was give it to her supervisor. Now the weird part I checked my TU fico score today and I went back up to 800, but the judgement know states PIF, and an changes to any other accounts. How can i get this judgement off, should I sue TU.

Thanks

GB

[GregB]

I'm assuming your wife hired the attorney in question to represent HERSELF, right?

Family law varies a bit from state to state but the general assumption is that the attorneys hired by both parties are a community expense until proven otherwise. Ownership of the $325 debt to her attorney should have been determined in the Judgement of Dissolution. What does it say about that? That would help determine if he had a right to come after you for the balance and if you have the right to go after her for that, comtempt of court, etc.  It is possible that her attorney was irresponsible if he didn't get his fees handled in the final agreement.

I do think you have a right to be upset with him for not contacting you about the debt and handling this in a way that did not damage your credit.

TU only reports the data that is reported to them. They don't appear to be doing anything wrong if they are reporting correctly. If there is a judgement and it is paid and that is what they are reporting then they are doing everything right.

What was your attorney doing about making sure the dissolution agreement was recorded correctly?

Without more information, and particularly without being familiar with AR Family Law, it seems your complaint is with your ex, her attorney, and MAYBE with your attorney.

I'm hoping your Judgement of Dissolution covers you and you can go after your ex to fix this.

[ArCpa]

Thanks for the information, my wife had hired this attorney to represent her in our divorce preceedings. I paid paid my attorney , the ex never paid hers in full, resulting from the judgement.  I was never required by the judge to pay her attorneys fee. And like my first post stated this happened in 2004 and wasnt reported until two weeks ago. The ex's attorney was served yesterday. Im suing him in distric court, for filing a judgement against me.