Scenario:

You work in a law office representing the Husband. The Husband is covered by a pension plan at his place of employment. During discovery, the Husband revealed the documents related to the pension to his wife's attorney, who has only been practicing for a relatively short period of time. During mediation, no mention was made of the pension by the wife's attorney because the wife's attorney did not believe that pensions were divisible as marital property, and the husband's attorney did not bring it up either. The final judgment was entered with no provision regarding the pension. Nine months after the entry of the final judgment, the wife realized there was nothing in the final judgment giving her part of her husband's pension.

Directions:

Discuss whether the wife's attorney had any ethical responsibility toward the wife and whether the husband's attorney had any ethical responsibility toward the wife. In your discussion, use your state's attorney's rules of professional conduct and find an applicable rule or rules that fit this scenario. Make sure you also read the comments that accompany the rule.

Discuss whether or not the wife has any recourse. In your discussion, use your state's statutes on setting aside, modifying, or obtaining relief from final judgments.

Review the following case to see what the wife did when a previously undisclosed pension plan had been omitted from the property distribution in the divorce decree:Simon v. Simon, 2019-Ohio-777 (App.).