[WSBARP] Off topic Legal Research Need

[Jim Doran]

I have a matter with a legal question(s) in an area that I do not regularly
practice in.

Here is the issue in a nutshell:  Fred was married to Irene for 20 years or
more.  they lived a middle class lifestyle.  Fred was a truck driver.
Irene was a spendthrift that sent them through a chapter 7 several years
before their split up.  They lived in a modest home and had no extravagant
assets.

Several months before their divorce, in 2012, Fred received an inheritance
of $1.6 million from his mother.  Just prior to the divorce Fred agreed to
give Irene $800,000 from his inheritance.  In the divorce proceedings Fred
did not have a lawyer and Irene did.  Fred signed documents agreeing to
give Irene the $800,000.  He also signed a settlement agreement that gave
Irene his full CalPers pension.  There is a discrepancy in the court filing
regarding the pension.

The issue now is that Fred is very ill and likely not going to live very
long.  His current wife, Dawn, has been very good for Fred and has cared
for him as a nurse (which she was professionally) for many months.  Dawn
wants the pension to be reassigned by Irene to her.  CalPers needs either
an agreement from Irene or a Court order.

The legal questions seem to be two:
1) Was the "gift" from Fred to Irene at the time of divorce unconscionable,
inequitable and amenable to be set aside and a more appropriate property
settlement and spousal maintenance arrangement be imposed that reflects
Irene's normal and customary lifestyle, especially since this fund was
clearly Fred's separate property?

2) Does the fact that Fred did not have an attorney during the divorce
proceedings and when he gifted the substantial funds to Irene enough to
cause a Court to re-open the matter?

That is the nut of it.

Do any of you have a contact for me to talk to on this matter?  I may have
to hire someone who has already gone through this kind of a scenario.  I
need some case law to support a motion to modify the decree and settlement
agreement to be a bit more equitable.  If we can scare Irene in to just
releasing the CalPers pension that would be enough.

Jim Doran
James R. Doran
Attorney at Law
100 E. Pine Street -  Suite 205
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360)393-9506
jim at doranlegal.com
www.doranlegal.com
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