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A bill for legal services thirteen years later?

Recently I was billed for legal fees from a divorce that was settled thirteen years ago. Is there any statute of limitations for billing for legal services? I was never made aware of this debt prior to now. Do I have to pay it?

Public Comments

1. Look at the divorce decree and the agreement with the attorney. There should have been some paperwork signed for it. If you cannot find it, ask the attorney who billed you to produce it. One of the parties may have had an agreement to pay for the legal services.
2. In most states it is around 10 years, but there are several factors affecting this. First, they can file suit to collect. It would be up to you to raise the limitation issue as a defense; they are not prevented from filing suit or trying to collect. If you took any actions during that time that prevented them from fair attempts to reach or find you, the clock stops for that period so the limits can run out much further than 10 years if this happens. Do not make a payment or acknowledge that you owe this debt, or this resets the clock.
3. Of course the question is, do or did you owe the money? If so, you might consider that, if you have to go to court to litigate the claim, the hourly rate of your new attorney to fight it is prob. equal to the entire invoice which is based on labor charges from over a decade ago. If you owed the money then, contact the lawyer and offer a settlement to avoid the problem entirely. If you do not owe the money and did not owe it, then that is a different matter.