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My Ex is Sending Me to the Poor House

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noncustdad33511

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? FL

Here's the background: I am the noncustodial, actively-involved parent of a beautiful 12 yr old girl. I am currently paying child support based on an order from 8 years ago. I owe a small amount of arrears ($2000) which I have been widdling away for the last few years. My ex is self-employed. She has a real estate license, a license to write home loans, a travel agents license and she sells Mary Kay products as well. She also owns three homes for which lives in one and collects rent on the other two. When she had a regular 9-to-5 job I knew what her income was but now I have no clue.

Here's the situation: My ex told me that our daughter's health insurance policy runs out in two months and she cannot afford to put her on a COBRA plan. She wanted me to put our daughter on my health insurance plan but the cost for adding her is prohibitive. I simply cannot afford it. I make just enough money to pay the rent (600 sq ft apartment), utilities, car payment and insurance. There is nothing extravagant in my budget. My ex says that if I won't put my daughter on my health insurance she is going to take me to court to have the court force me to. I have good reason to believe my ex would lie on a financial affidavit to increase her chances of having the support raised. If she succeeds in doing this, I may have to file for bankruptcy and lose my car.

Here are my questions: Can my ex have the court compel me to pay health care on top of my child support that I'm already paying? Wouldn't it be a motion to modify the child support amount?

Can I subpoena her financial records (amount renters pay, receipts for landlord expenses, bank statements, commisions from real estate sales and loans, mary kay commissions, etc)? I should do this after she submits a financial affidavit but before the hearing, right?
If she refuses to give me the information (addresses, records, etc), how should I handle that?

If she wins and my support amount makes it impossible for me to pay my basic bills, what should I do then? If I have to lose my car, can I compel her to deliver and pick up our daughter for our visitation weekends?

Please help!
 


Neal1421

Senior Member
noncustdad33511 said:
What is the name of your state? FL

Here's the background: I am the noncustodial, actively-involved parent of a beautiful 12 yr old girl. I am currently paying child support based on an order from 8 years ago. I owe a small amount of arrears ($2000) which I have been widdling away for the last few years. My ex is self-employed. She has a real estate license, a license to write home loans, a travel agents license and she sells Mary Kay products as well. She also owns three homes for which lives in one and collects rent on the other two. When she had a regular 9-to-5 job I knew what her income was but now I have no clue.

Here's the situation: My ex told me that our daughter's health insurance policy runs out in two months and she cannot afford to put her on a COBRA plan. She wanted me to put our daughter on my health insurance plan but the cost for adding her is prohibitive. I simply cannot afford it. I make just enough money to pay the rent (600 sq ft apartment), utilities, car payment and insurance. There is nothing extravagant in my budget. My ex says that if I won't put my daughter on my health insurance she is going to take me to court to have the court force me to. I have good reason to believe my ex would lie on a financial affidavit to increase her chances of having the support raised. If she succeeds in doing this, I may have to file for bankruptcy and lose my car.

Here are my questions: Can my ex have the court compel me to pay health care on top of my child support that I'm already paying? Wouldn't it be a motion to modify the child support amount?

Can I subpoena her financial records (amount renters pay, receipts for landlord expenses, bank statements, commisions from real estate sales and loans, mary kay commissions, etc)? I should do this after she submits a financial affidavit but before the hearing, right?
If she refuses to give me the information (addresses, records, etc), how should I handle that?

If she wins and my support amount makes it impossible for me to pay my basic bills, what should I do then? If I have to lose my car, can I compel her to deliver and pick up our daughter for our visitation weekends?

Please help!
If your court order doesn't say anything about you paying for insurance, you are not obligated to pay it. She would have to take you back to court.

If you are having trouble paying your bills, get a second job.
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
Tell her to pound sand.

And in the meantime, if she has parlayed her licenses into a business, you can contact either the city clerk for which department registers business licenses and then do a search on her name.

Also, you can check with the Secretary of State office to see if she has registered a corporation .

Also, you can subpoena her tax returns for the years since the last modification of the order and there are firms which will do an asset search if you have to go that route.
 

noncustdad33511

Junior Member
BelizeBreeze said:
Tell her to pound sand.

And in the meantime, if she has parlayed her licenses into a business, you can contact either the city clerk for which department registers business licenses and then do a search on her name.

Also, you can check with the Secretary of State office to see if she has registered a corporation .

Also, you can subpoena her tax returns for the years since the last modification of the order and there are firms which will do an asset search if you have to go that route.
Thanks! I know...she dresses our kid in rags, feeds her Ramons Noodles for dinner a few times a week and she wants more money from someone that lives in an apt just a little bigger than one of her walk-in closets.
 

MrsK

Senior Member
I dont know if your state does this or not, but in my state, there is a formula SES uses to determine if the NCP has to carry insurance on the child. I cant remember the formula off the top of my head, but it has something to do with the cost of the insurance being a certain % of NCP's gross pay.

Until she changes the court order, you are in the clear. If she is making so much $, I bet she is just trying to bluff you into paying for this, and unlikely to take you to court b/c the order is old & she could be making enough that your support might drop. So sit tight until she tries to do anything.
 

noncustdad33511

Junior Member
Thanks

MrsK said:
I dont know if your state does this or not, but in my state, there is a formula SES uses to determine if the NCP has to carry insurance on the child. I cant remember the formula off the top of my head, but it has something to do with the cost of the insurance being a certain % of NCP's gross pay.

Until she changes the court order, you are in the clear. If she is making so much $, I bet she is just trying to bluff you into paying for this, and unlikely to take you to court b/c the order is old & she could be making enough that your support might drop. So sit tight until she tries to do anything.
Could be a bluff but if she does go through with it, I'm sure she'll low-ball her income on her affidavit and then I'll have the tough task of trying to prove that she's lying.
 

Gracie3787

Senior Member
noncustdad33511 said:
What is the name of your state? FL

Here's the background: I am the noncustodial, actively-involved parent of a beautiful 12 yr old girl. I am currently paying child support based on an order from 8 years ago. I owe a small amount of arrears ($2000) which I have been widdling away for the last few years. My ex is self-employed. She has a real estate license, a license to write home loans, a travel agents license and she sells Mary Kay products as well. She also owns three homes for which lives in one and collects rent on the other two. When she had a regular 9-to-5 job I knew what her income was but now I have no clue.

Here's the situation: My ex told me that our daughter's health insurance policy runs out in two months and she cannot afford to put her on a COBRA plan. She wanted me to put our daughter on my health insurance plan but the cost for adding her is prohibitive. I simply cannot afford it. I make just enough money to pay the rent (600 sq ft apartment), utilities, car payment and insurance. There is nothing extravagant in my budget. My ex says that if I won't put my daughter on my health insurance she is going to take me to court to have the court force me to. I have good reason to believe my ex would lie on a financial affidavit to increase her chances of having the support raised. If she succeeds in doing this, I may have to file for bankruptcy and lose my car.

Here are my questions: Can my ex have the court compel me to pay health care on top of my child support that I'm already paying? Wouldn't it be a motion to modify the child support amount?

Can I subpoena her financial records (amount renters pay, receipts for landlord expenses, bank statements, commisions from real estate sales and loans, mary kay commissions, etc)? I should do this after she submits a financial affidavit but before the hearing, right?
If she refuses to give me the information (addresses, records, etc), how should I handle that?

If she wins and my support amount makes it impossible for me to pay my basic bills, what should I do then? If I have to lose my car, can I compel her to deliver and pick up our daughter for our visitation weekends?

Please help!
If she takes you to court you can be ordered to provide insurance. However, a portion of the cost will be deducted from the CS, which would have to be modified at the same time.

The other posters are correct, until you are ordered to you do not have to pay for or provide insurance. You are most likely already paying for a portion because it should have been figured into the CS ordered 8 yrs ago. So you might want to just wait and see if she files or not.

If she does file, she has to file and serve her financial affidavit along with the petition for modification. As soon as you have her financial affidavit you can serve her with a subpoena for any documents related to claims made in her affidavit. Besides the subpoena you can also gather whatever documentation you can through public records resources. If she refuses to obey the subpoena you'll need to file a motion to compel and have the court order her to produce the documents.

If you are in a situation where you may lose your car you can always file to modify the visitation order (seperately from the CS modification) and ask that she provide transportation for visitation. However, in all honesty, that is really a long shot, I'm just trying to let you know what your legal rights are.
 

noncustdad33511

Junior Member
Gracie3787 said:
If she takes you to court you can be ordered to provide insurance. However, a portion of the cost will be deducted from the CS, which would have to be modified at the same time.

The other posters are correct, until you are ordered to you do not have to pay for or provide insurance. You are most likely already paying for a portion because it should have been figured into the CS ordered 8 yrs ago. So you might want to just wait and see if she files or not.

If she does file, she has to file and serve her financial affidavit along with the petition for modification. As soon as you have her financial affidavit you can serve her with a subpoena for any documents related to claims made in her affidavit. Besides the subpoena you can also gather whatever documentation you can through public records resources. If she refuses to obey the subpoena you'll need to file a motion to compel and have the court order her to produce the documents.

If you are in a situation where you may lose your car you can always file to modify the visitation order (seperately from the CS modification) and ask that she provide transportation for visitation. However, in all honesty, that is really a long shot, I'm just trying to let you know what your legal rights are.
Thanks Gracie 3787! Thanks for your time and your thorough answers!!! God Bless You!!!:)
 

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