My divorce in Louisiana was final in August of 2004, we separated in June of 2003. We still have not had our settlement. We were supposed to go to court next week, but my attorney called yesterday to tell me that my former spouse's attorney asked and was granted yet another cancellation... I've lost count as to how many times this has happened. Let me add that there is NOTHING left to fight over other than my government retirement. The home (which was severely damaged by Katrina was finally sold at a loss earlier this year). The issue with her is that she was responsible for 1/2 of the mortgage because I was granted custody of our two children and use of the home. The house was two days from closing in August 2005 when Katrina struck. Since then, I have been paying a mortgage on a house I could not even live in and I couldn't get my ex to sign the insurance checks to finish repairs on the house. I finally got a court date to get a judge to rule on the insurance checks and the judge had them put into an escrow until divorce settlement. Meanwhile, moved to NC in June of 2007. She moved to California in August of 2007. She has gotten away scott-free thus far. She never paid one cent of her child support (once again, a judge ruled to let that ride until settlement date). She has a long history of alcohol abuse (hence the reason for the divorce) and she has gone for long periods without an attorney and without an address where she could be reached for service by the courts. She is now back with her mother (from whom she was previously estranged) who is wealthy and pouring money into a new team of lawyers for the past year and a half. I have had to go through depositions by this attorney and delay after delay. I know these are stalling tactics and I have asked my attorney if he can't do something to force this thing to settlement as I do not have a wealthy mother paying my legal fees. Instead, I have two kids in college (now 19 & 21) and a deadbeat ex-wife who never paid her child support or contributed a dime toward their upkeep. I would just like for someone to tell me if there is some legal action I can take to force this thing into court? Can I file contempt charges against the opposing attorney for stalling and trying to pad legal fees. All we are down to is determining NUMBERS... what she is liable for as far as all the joint debt I paid in a community property state and how much of my CSRS retirement she is entitled to. There are NO other assets... no stocks, bonds, property, etc. Our kids are over 18 and I had custody of them from 2003 until they aged out. She has never taken responsibility for anything. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really do not want to get another attorney at this point, even though I'm beginning to think my attorney has intentionally allowed all the stalling to pad his bill. After more than six years, I'm sure it would be very expensive to start over with a new attorney. I am being held hostage by my ex, these attorneys, and the Louisiana judicial system. Please help.

One way to maybe speed this up is to ask for legal fees to be paid for by your ex. The reason being is that it may be a delay tactic. Also if she goes MIA then file for a divorce by default. Another thing is that you do not HAVE to allow for a delay. Its like if you needed medical attention and your doctor was out of town it doesn't mean there isn't another to take their place. You have waited long enough. The child support judgement you have should be in arrears and that will have to be settled also. It doesn't go away or evaporate. Is it just at the point of a final trial to close this matter ?

All we are waiting for is the final trial to settle this matter. My attorney sent a form that I had to sign to agree to reschedule. I asked if I could refuse and he said that I couldn't. He agreed to not charge me for the three hours it took for him to meet with the opposing attorney before the court officer. I'm just dumbfounded by this whole ordeal.

Can I just ask for legal fees to be paid at this point... after six years of waiting and continuances?

Mostly it depends on what your asking for is or is not beyond reason to the courts. Example: You need to get a restraining order against your ex. In that situation you could ask for legal fees and if you win then they have to pay in theroy but your still on the hook for the bill. So if your lawyer can not collect they would come back to you. If it were a custody dispute then you may not be awarded legal fees but you could still ask. The reason being is that its not extrodinary for custody to flex over the years a child is growing up. So it really depends on the dispute before the courts.