Feura Bush, NY Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

You didn't quite finish giving all of your information but if your attorney never filed a qdro and now your ex's pension has been depleted and you can't get the amount that was agreed upon, that could definitely be legal malpractice. Need more information to fully answer.

In New York, a spouse is entitled to the greater of $50,000.00 or 1/3 of the net estate of a deceased spouse.  The net estate will include items such as joint bank accounts, in trust for accounts, retirement accounts and other assets specified by statute.  This requirement can be circumvented only by a signed contract between spouses. Traditionally, pre-nuptial agreements provide for the parties to "contract-out" of the provisions of the EPTL as do separation agreements. Even though the entry of a judgment of divorce automatically disinherits each spouse from each other, that period of time between the date a final divorce settlement is inked and the papers are actually submitted to the court clerk, approved and signed by a judge can be agonizingly long and the parties should be protected by a provision in the agreement that each waives his or her right of election under the law. In waiving inheritance rights from one's spouse, very basic and important legal rights are being conceded. In order for such a waiver to stand up , both parties should be represented by independent competent counsel to insure that they did this while on a level legal playing field. Lawyers experienced in matrimonial law should be engaged to prepare and supervise such an agreement which should contain specific recitations as to just what rights are given up and which must be predicated upon the parties providing detailed disclosure of their personal assets to each other in order to insure its viability in the face of a challenge. An experienced attorney should be consulted regarding your rights in this area. -Alfred Polizzotto, III

Without money to hire an attorney you're going to have a hard time - but it is technically possible. You'll have to work through the various issues and try to draft and file the right documents.