form interrigatorries and income decleration

[outhouse]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca

my ex,s lawyer filed these for me to fill out.

my lawyer at the time said you only need to provide documents you have or can easily get. if you dont have info there asking for just write it out that you dont have them and sign it.

#1 i gave all the documents i had which are very little. i did go to the bank and got a few months statements because they were not going to charge $ for. [i provided these to exs lawyer] I was told by lawyer if i had to pay $ i didnt have to get the doc,s. [ex did not get 7 years bank statements as they had asked for]

they got , a few bank satements, copy of a closed 401k statement, 07 tax returns,[all i had] and copys of my truck and motorcycle insurance. paycheck stubs showing how much i made in 08.


#2 i dont own a home, i have no hidden accounts, i have never made more then 40K a year income. I have no money anywhere! I had a 401K for $1400 that i cashed out for my lawyer fees. i did give exs lawyer a copy of that account showing it was closed.

#3 when the ex left the marital home she took everything, i meen everything all paperwork reciepts, everything. so i have no docs old tax statements nothing. ex did leave her old tax returns but thats it as far as paperwork.

they are suing me for $2600 in lawyer fees saying i didnt supply enough info on these forms.

i dont own or have any assests other then vehicles no life insurance nothing. i feel this lawsuit is frivolous as there asking for info i dont have or could not get. my lawyer [when i had her] said it was rediculous that they filed these forms asking for all this info because we both dont have or own anything.

Is this normal/common that they sue as a tactic to gain money?

do they have a case against me?

thank you im going through hell, exs parents sold a house to pay for lawyers fees to go after me

[mistoffolees]

It all depends. When you say you didn't provide everything 'they' had asked for, who is 'they'? Did the court order you to provide the documents or was it just a request from the other side?

If there was a court order saying you had to provide 7 years of documents, then you have to do it - even if it costs you some money to get. If it's impossible or extremely difficult, you have to convince the court that you've made an honest effort and hope the court will let you off.

If it was simply the other side's request, it is a grayer area. You should provide what they asked for and if they are unhappy with what you sent, they have the right to ask the court to force you. It shouldn't cost $2600, though, for them to file that with the court, but you're going to have to prove to the judge's satisfaction that that is unreasonable.

Your best bet is to give them what they asked for and then appear in court and hope the judge will accept that rather than award their fees.

[outhouse]

i emailed my old lawyer she said that its a common ploy and to argue that [point out in your response that you did not cause any of this and that litgation has been incurred b/c of her]

If it was simply the other side's request

there was no reason for them to ask for the info since there are no assets only debt. I understand its there right to ask, and to the best of my ability i did provide them with all the info i could get my hands on.

with that said they keep/kept sending me letters [2] saying they wanted more and more of this and more of that and that i hand not gave them the legal standards. [in all honesty they are, were asking for info that does not exist]

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by outhouse

i emailed my old lawyer she said that its a common ploy and to argue that [point out in your response that you did not cause any of this and that litgation has been incurred b/c of her]

If it was simply the other side's request

there was no reason for them to ask for the info since there are no assets only debt. I understand its there right to ask, and to the best of my ability i did provide them with all the info i could get my hands on.

with that said they keep/kept sending me letters [2] saying they wanted more and more of this and more of that and that i hand not gave them the legal standards. [in all honesty they are, were asking for info that does not exist]

If the information truly doesn't exist, then you don't have to worry about it (other than convincing the judge that the information doesn't exist). However, that's not what you said. You said you could get the information by paying a fee. That's not the same as saying it doesn't exist.

Paying a fee to obtain documents is NOT unreasonable (unless the fee is huge).

You need to read the court orders with respect to the divorce. When you were served (or served your stbx) there should be documents discussing financial matters. You are obligated to provide documentation of your financial position. If the documents in question are relevant, then you should have paid the fee to get the copies.

But asking for legal fees is very common. Getting legal fees paid is a lot less common.

[outhouse]

understood, my lawyer when i asked her about a month ago said if it cost money you dont need it.

now really the only thing missing is that they want 7 years of bank statements. my bank said that is not a easy task.

when the ex moved out of the marital home she cleaned house and took everything even the toliet paper holder.

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by outhouse

understood, my lawyer when i asked her about a month ago said if it cost money you dont need it.

now really the only thing missing is that they want 7 years of bank statements. my bank said that is not a easy task.

when the ex moved out of the marital home she cleaned house and took everything even the toliet paper holder.

Then you go to court and state that your stbx took the documents and they are no longer in your possession and you will sign an authorization for them to obtain them from the bank - and hope for the best.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by mistoffolees

Then you go to court and state that your stbx took the documents and they are no longer in your possession and you will sign an authorization for them to obtain them from the bank - and hope for the best.

Asking for 7 years worth of bank statements is ridiculous unless there is some very odd or specific situation where money had to be traced. I suspect that is the reason why the OP's attorney responded the way that the OP's attorney did.

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

Asking for 7 years worth of bank statements is ridiculous unless there is some very odd or specific situation where money had to be traced. I suspect that is the reason why the OP's attorney responded the way that the OP's attorney did.

Well, considering that we never get the entire story here, it's safer to not make assumptions.

As I said, OP can tell the court that he/she no longer has the documents because stbx took them. If there are no extenuating circumstances, that should be enough. OTOH, if there's a good reason for needing 7 years of statements (and there are several plausible ones), then OP might have to justify not providing them. Without knowing the details, it's impossible to guess which scenario will apply.

[outhouse]

these forms did not have to be filed in the first place because again.

i dont own a buisiness
i have only 1 job
i have debt and my marital assets dont match the debt [and they have the vehicles info]
i do not own a home or property
i have 1 checking account and they have the current balance
i have 1 savings account and they have the current balance

i read through there court filed decleration and ill look again but 1 point said they needed the info for spousal support or child support. now i already filed my income and expence and they have all they really needed.

i honestly think it is a clear cut way to try and sue me for more then im worth [there spending more money to go after me then they could possibly find or have attributed as i even gave them my highest years earnings [fed tax return] i ever had in my life]

[[[Well, considering that we never get the entire story here]]] well i have no reason to be dishonest here as you cant squeeze blood out of a turnip. im not rich i have never been rich. im a renter and i spent any money i did have on a lawyer

they did say in the decleration that this has put a serious delay in the courts. we have not even got to the property division yet which by all rights i will probably get a few thousand from the ex as she took every marital asset with her and the car we own outright together which is the biggest marital asset we have.

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by outhouse

these forms did not have to be filed in the first place because again.

Ignoring the rest, the problem is that you are presenting only one side. The other side obviously thinks that you DO have to file the forms. You can speculate all you want on WHY they're doing that, but it's irrelevant (they may believe that you're hiding assets and they have a legitimate interest in finding that out). It's up to the judge to decide.

[outhouse]

i understand your point. but this is just a cold tactic to drag things out and they may get lucky and be awarded lawyer fees if the judge is having a bad day.

they probably would have sued for lack of info and lawyer fees no matter what i sent them.

looking at the there docs they state i did not give a good reason for not producing the documents. but i did the best i could.

im not good with paper work i have never saved any documentation for anything as ive lived a simple poor life. i would have to go with [If you do not have enough personal knowledge to fully
answer an interrogatory] my problem is i didnt say so, but i did try and answer to the best of my ability.


c) Each answer must be as complete and straightforward
as the information reasonably available to you, including the
information possessed by your attorneys or agents, permits. If
an interrogatory cannot be answered completely, answer it to
the extent possible.



(d) If you do not have enough personal knowledge to fully
answer an interrogatory, say so, but make a reasonable and
good faith effort to get the information by asking other persons
or organizations, unless the information is equally available to