A SECOND ATTORNEY CAUSES MORE PROBLEMS 

Under the circumstances, I was obliged the second attorney accepted my case.  

I provided him the basic background information about my case in writing and 
awaited guidance.

While waiting for advice from the attorney, I received a letter from the 
opposing attorney claiming I owed over $22,000.00 to him and my ex-spouse.  
This included the amount of the divorce decree judgment which totaled over 
$11,000.00, plus additional military retirement pay backdated to May, 1995.

A week later, I received a second letter by the opposing attorney.  I was 
notified that due to the Motion for Enforcement the opposing attorney was now 
demanding additional attorney fees be paid to him.   My ex-spouse's attorney 
demanded I now pay $29,500.00  (i.e., an approximate $7,000.00 increase in 
just one week) or face jail due to ex-spouse military retirement payments not 
being made since May, 1995.

My attorney never personally contacted me.  

However, I did receive a fax message from my attorney at my work place in 
late-March, 1997 wanting to know if my ex-spouse had received her monthly 
retired military pay allotments in February and March, 1997.  

The attorney also requested I answer that if I did not know, then why not, 
since the Court ordered on the penalty of Contempt that I was to pay her if 
DFAS did not pay her an allotment.

My answer was my ex-spouse was not due retired military pay since:

   -  her attorney submitted a request to DFAS for ex-spouse payments to 
start, 

   -  my ex-spouse owed me military retirement pay (that was taken by my 
ex-spouse under a court order that was falsely submitted to DFAS as being 
final), 

   -  the amount of military retirement pay my ex-spouse owed me  was still 
more than any amount of ex-spouse payments my wife would have received for 
February and March, 1997

In response, my attorney advised the divorce decree, in effect, went beyond 
the USFSPA and ordered I was to ensure my ex-spouse receive a monthly 
retirement pay allotment each month regardless if my ex-spouse is not owed 
any payment.  

My attorney also informed me because I had not personally made payments to my 
ex-spouse or ensured DFAS made ex-spouse payments for February and March, 
1997 that I would most certainly be found in Contempt and jailed for not 
making ex-spouse military retirement payments.

The following day my father, who was in San Antonio, telephoned me at my 
civilian job to notify me the divorce matter would be concluded shortly and 
to no longer have concerns about being jailed or owing money to my ex-spouse 
or her attorney.  

He further explained my attorney would be contacting me regarding the 
specifics of the payments the following day.   

I received a fax letter from my attorney the next day.  In the letter the 
attorney explained $29,500.00 was paid to the opposing side.  Upon seeing 
that monetary figure, I was psychologically devastated.

I knew a grossly terrible error had just been made.   The amount paid was the 
full 28% ex-spouse amount demanded by the opposing attorney and was:

     -  over and above what the court ordered be paid, 

     -  not necessary given USFSPA laws (i.e., ex-spouse payments are not to 
be back-pay and are to be made only after a court order is final).  

     -  a before-income tax amount (even if back-pay were due)

Without me being there in San Antonio, my father had tried to assist by 
visiting the attorney and presenting my claims.    

What resulted was my father was erroneously led by my second attorney to pay 
over $18,000.00 more out of his funds than was necessary. 

I was very bothered by being told of such a development and was not about to 
forget a tremendous overpayment occurred.  So, I asked my attorney to 
initiate a lawsuit or demand the amount overpaid to the opposing attorney and 
ex-spouse be returned.  

In response, the attorney stated he only agreed to represent me on the Motion 
for Enforcement and in trying to release funds in my savings that were held 
by a Credit Union (due to sanctions imposed by the Court).  He stated his 
involvment in the matter was over.  

[In addition to the overpayment on military retired pay, the attorney gave 
$1,200.00 of the approximate $3,200.00 in my savings account to the Credit 
Union against my wishes.]   

The attorney told me if I had any problems with the settlement I needed to 
contact another attorney since he normally did not take cases unless 
financial assets of one million dollars or more are involved.