Help Please!!!

[mikegsxr_1]

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

I am going to be filing for divorce from my wife and have a few questions. I am living in Scottsdale, Az, so hopefully someone knows the laws in this state. My wife and I Married on June 1st of this year. Obviously it didn't last long she decided she didnt want me there because of differences in opinion and I moved in with family. We share a kid together that is six years old. We had a relationship that ended several years ago, but stupid me thought she might have changed and we got back together last January. This is a break down of my situation now here are my questions:

1. I bought a car around last March is that considered community property if the car was purchased before we married and the financing is only in my name?

2. My soon to be ex wife wants to get an annulment without involving the kids and wants me to pay for her car as a form of back child support and child support. she says she will get something noterized in writing that once the car is paid off I have fullfilled my back child support and at that time we can talk about what to pay just for regular child support. My question is can that be done or would could she still take me to court later on because that would be considered a gift?

3. My wife has threated that if I file for divorce she is going to burry me. She says she will quit her job to try to get more money in child support from me can she do that?

4. Do you recomend that I obtain a laywer since my ex is not wanting to resolve this divorce civally? If so can you please tell me how and where to look for representation that is affordable. I spoke to a laywer today they wanted 2,500 upfront which covers so many hours and the more she contests the more it will cost.

I thank you for your help

 

[basylica]

1. anything bought OR paid for during marriage is comm prop, even if just in your name alone. I bought and paid for my car in 99, met my STBX in 01, married in 03. it was still considered community property - but luckily he can't drive stick and the KBB value was 400 bucks. lol.
his car was bought in 99 as well, but had a 5 yr note. we lived together for 2yrs and shared finances, but paid the car off 13m after we married. I was legally entitled to 50% of the ammt paid on the car during the marriage. (luckily) for me that ment I got to keep my 401K plan and he got to keep his crappy beat up stinky 99 neon. SCORE!
silly that I was expected to split the 401K, which i'd had for maybe 18m, and we'd been seperated for over a year. but since we were legally wed, laws said he could get half.

2. I can't say with absolute certainty, but i've always been told that *nothing* absolves you from child support, even debts owed. Odds are she is going to fight you anyway, I would back away from that pit as quickly as possible. Let child support be child support, and let her buy her own car.

3. I don't know laws in your state, but in tx it doesn't matter what I make, dad pays 25% of his gross for 2 kids, upto some insane figure as top (like 8K or something? never gonna be a worry for me!) and tx doesn't do alimony and all that. I could be making 300K a year, and he'd still pay the exact same amount. that being said, I believe if she up and quits her job and they DO use her income to figure CS, they can assign her a earning potential ammt. IE, if she did work she could make 60K a year and it's her choice not to.....and base CS on that.

4. I've been dealing with a crazy STBX because his parents are footing all the bills. paying the lawyer, paying his room and board and kids's expenses....he's trying ot make me suffer. the sad thing is if he'd put 1/10th of this effort into the marriage, he'd still be married. oh well.
my retainer was 3K and was depleated in less than a month. my second payment of 3K was depleated in less than a month.
my lawyer dropped me for non payment at some point (I don't know what I owe her...she hasn't sent me a bill in over a year....like 4-6k I believe) and I spent a year dealing with my ex in court sans representation.
I ran into a old coworker (I worked in a lawfim for several years. as IT! not legal!) and he offered to represent me for a flat fee until finialized. at this point he's regretting that for sure.

All told I've spent around 20K in 2yrs on legal (and did't have a lawyer for a year)
my Ex has spent *easily* 30K or more, probably over 40 i'd wager.
3K sounds like a lot, but it's really not. Be aware...it gets expensive really really quick.
just the trip to court and doing my temp orders cost me over 2K, for half a day! everytime you email them, they charge you, everytime you talk to them for 5 min, they charge you for 15 (time is billed by quarter hour for most lawyers)

In texas it's required you go to a mediator to settle if you have kids. if you can't, you go back infront of a judge. you don't need a lawyer for mediation if you don't want, and mine was one of the best in the area I guess and rather $$$ and cost 1K per day per person.
despite the seething hatred my ex seems to have for me, we did settle during the 8hrs. if your state allows for something like that it's well worth it to try that FIRST, before you even hire a lawyer.
I got ahold of ex coworker right before I went, and actually....he wasn't all that much help. the mediator was really good. we were in seperate rooms and she walked back and forth between us, and advised me "I know you want XXX but a judge will give him XXXX.....do this and see if he's willing"

might save you a LOT of time and money. it still baffles me how someone who makes 28K a year finds it reasonable to spend 40K in legal fees.
I've just about killed myself scraping together 20 and I make 60. borrowed and begged everyone pretty much.

 

[mistoffolees]

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

I am going to be filing for divorce from my wife and have a few questions. I am living in Scottsdale, Az, so hopefully someone knows the laws in this state. My wife and I Married on June 1st of this year. Obviously it didn't last long she decided she didnt want me there because of differences in opinion and I moved in with family. We share a kid together that is six years old. We had a relationship that ended several years ago, but stupid me thought she might have changed and we got back together last January. This is a break down of my situation now here are my questions:

1. I bought a car around last March is that considered community property if the car was purchased before we married and the financing is only in my name?

2. My soon to be ex wife wants to get an annulment without involving the kids and wants me to pay for her car as a form of back child support and child support. she says she will get something noterized in writing that once the car is paid off I have fullfilled my back child support and at that time we can talk about what to pay just for regular child support. My question is can that be done or would could she still take me to court later on because that would be considered a gift?

3. My wife has threated that if I file for divorce she is going to burry me. She says she will quit her job to try to get more money in child support from me can she do that?

4. Do you recomend that I obtain a laywer since my ex is not wanting to resolve this divorce civally? If so can you please tell me how and where to look for representation that is affordable. I spoke to a laywer today they wanted 2,500 upfront which covers so many hours and the more she contests the more it will cost.

I thank you for your help

1. If the car was purchased before your marriage, it is likely separate property - particularly since the lien is in your name. In principle, she could claim half of the marital equity, but given the short duration of the marriage and the fact that cars depreciate, she's not going to have a leg to stand on on this one.

2. First, you're not going to get an annulment. Forget it. As for the rest, NEVER, EVER, EVER rely on an agreement with your stbx until the court has approved it. She could agree to anything and then drag you into court later for whatever she wants. Get the court to approve whatever you agree to. And don't pay any more than your attorney says you should pay before then because anything you pay before the agreement goes into effect is probably a gift.

3. She can do that, but try to document her threat. Also, ask the court to impute income. If she quit a $40 K per year job with no good reason, ask the court to impute $40 K. Courts will sometimes impute a lower income (sometimes much lower), but the better you are able to convince the court that she did it to get more child support, the better your chances of imputing a higher income.

4. I don't EVER recommend doing a contested divorce pro se (by yourself). The cost of the attorney may look cheap after you've lost your shirt. $2500 isn't that unreasonable. However, it can go up quickly. The more reasonable you (and your stbx) are, the less it will cost. That really can't be helped.