Sousal support

Spousal support

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My divorce was final almost 4 years ago. In the divorce decree my ex and I agreed apon spousal support in addition to child support. No reason list for spousal in decree. The decree says that he is to pay me until July 2006. The decree also states that as long as he is obligated to pay spousal support he will pay me 1/2 of net bonuses within 72 hours of receipt of bonus. We agreed to my ex using our 4 children as dependants on his income tax return during the years he is obligated to pay spousal support. In Oregon the child support is factored on a combination of both parents income. Because I am a stay at home mom, I have a potential income of $1256(minimum wage in Oregon). In addition to this my spousal support is factored in as income to me and deducted from ex's income when factoring child support.

I met a man(my current husband) 6 months after my ex and I seperated. We got married 5 weeks after my divorce to ex was final. That was almost 4 years ago. My current husband and I now have two children together and my husband has custody of his two children from previous marriage.

I was served with papers to end spousal support last week. His reason for ending it was substantial change in financial circumstances (my current husband's income). We had a hearing last Monday morning, but because I was served so close to the hearing it was continued for 2 weeks so I could prepare. My ex had to file pay stubs and last years income tax return. The first thing that stood out when going over pay stubs is my ex is making substantially more than when child support was first calculated and second he is making bonuses and did not pay me my half. Not at all for the last 3 1/2 years.

Ex lied about my living arrangements to the courts. He took an arbitrary number for my husband's income(which was too high a number) and divided that by 4 (his 4 kids) and said this was the new dollar amout each kid has at their disposal. He failed to mention the other 4 kids in home. He told the courts in the motion that he is making same thing he was making in original divorce decree. On his income tax return he claimed "head of household" and checked the box that the 4 kids lived with him last year.

Ok, so what I want to know is this....What are my possibilities of keeping spousal support in place until 2006. Because of his increased income Child support alone without spousal is only $100 per month less than what he is paying now, but if spousal support is left then his total support will go up by $200 per month. Then there is the back bonuses that are in arrears. Can I ask for one lump sum award? Or will the judge most likely make him pay it out month to month? And lastly, claiming the kids on income tax. My ex got a $6900 Fed retun this year. I told him when I found out about hearing, that if spousal support ended he no longer had the right to claim the kids. He told me he would be continuing to claim them. Period. Is he right or am I right? I think my ex opened a can of worms he is going to be sorry for in 2 weeks at new hearing.

OH, and one more thing. I have had to rely on ex's integrety concerning bonuses over the last 4 years. Obviously this isn't working. At divorce time ex was overly concerned about bonues being factored in as yearly income and child support computed with bonuses included in income. He kept saying they vary from quarter to quarter. So we came up with the above mentioned situation. Can I ask the court to redeem the bonuses as regular income and have it factored in with child support factor? So that way I don't ever have to rely on his integrety again. Bonuses are subject to child support as far as my understanding of the laws. I hope that last little bit makes sence? Thank you.

mom6stepmom2 said:

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My divorce was final almost 4 years ago. In the divorce decree my ex and I agreed apon spousal support in addition to child support. No reason list for spousal in decree. The decree says that he is to pay me until July 2006. The decree also states that as long as he is obligated to pay spousal support he will pay me 1/2 of net bonuses within 72 hours of receipt of bonus. We agreed to my ex using our 4 children as dependants on his income tax return during the years he is obligated to pay spousal support. In Oregon the child support is factored on a combination of both parents income. Because I am a stay at home mom, I have a potential income of $1256(minimum wage in Oregon). In addition to this my spousal support is factored in as income to me and deducted from ex's income when factoring child support.

I met a man(my current husband) 6 months after my ex and I seperated. We got married 5 weeks after my divorce to ex was final. That was almost 4 years ago. My current husband now have two children together and my husband has custody of his two children from previous marriage.

I was served with papers to end spousal support last week. His reason for ending it was substantial change in financial circumstances (my current husband's income). We had a hearing last Monday morning, but because I was served so close to the hearing it was continued for 2 weeks so I could prepare. My ex had to file pay stubs and last years income tax return. The first thing that stood out when going over pay stubs is my ex is making substantially more than when child support was first calculated and second he is making bonuses and did not pay me my half. Not at all for the last 3 1/2 years.

Ex lied about my living arrangements to the courts. He took an arbitrary number for my husband's income(which was too high a number) and divided that by 4 (his 4 kids) and said this was the new dollar amout each kid has at their disposal. He failed to mention the other 4 kids in home. He told the courts in the motion that he is making same thing he was making in original divorce decree. On his income tax return he claimed "head of household" and checked the box that the 4 kids lived with him last year.

Ok, so what I want to know is this....What are my possibilities of keeping spousal support in place until 2006. Because of his increased income Child support alone without spousal is only $100 per month less than what he is paying now, but if spousal support is left then his total support will go up by $200 per month. Then there is the back bonuses that are in arrears. Can I ask for one lump sum award? Or will the judge most likely make him pay it out month to month? And lastly, claiming the kids on income tax. My ex got a $6900 Fed retun this year. I told him when I found out about hearing, that if spousal support ended he no longer had the right to claim the kids. He told me he would be continuing to claim them. Period. Is he right or am I right? I think my ex opened a can of worms he is going to be sorry for in 2 weeks at new hearing.

OH, and one more thing. I have had to rely on ex's integrety concerning bonuses over the last 4 years. Obviously this isn't working. At divorce time ex was overly concerned about bonues being factored in as yearly income and child support computed with bonuses included in income. He kept saying they vary from quarter to quarter. So we came up with the above mentioned situation. Can I ask the court to redeem the bonuses as regular income and have it factored in with child support factor? So that way I don't ever have to rely on his integrety again. Bonuses are subject to child support as far as my understanding of the laws. I hope that last little bit makes sence? Thank you.

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You can file contempt against him for not paying you the 1/2 of the bonuses that he was to pay. You can ask the judge to order him to pay in a lump sum, but there is no guarantee that the judge will do that....the judge may allow him to pay installments.

Your current husband is not obligated to support your children, so his income is irrelevant for child support purposes...but could be relevant for the spousal support.

Since his income has increased, you can certainly petition for his child support to be increased....and you should do so....irregardless of the issues with the spousal support. You can also ask that the bonuses be included in the income for child support purposes since he was dishonest in the past.

I would strongly recommend that you use an attorney. Your ex lied in his declaration and you have some fairly complex issues. You would be better off with the attorney.

Edit: I should add that if your orders state that he only gets the tax exemption while he is paying spousal support...then once he stops he no longer gets the exemption unless the new orders state that he gets the exemption. Without new orders the IRS rules apply. Since the children live primarily with you, YOU get the exemption.

He also committed tax fraud when he claimed head of household status.

What EXACTLY does your divorce decree state (word for word) about spousal support?

Ok, this is what my decree states exactly..... Spousal support. Beginning with the month of August 2001, and continuing for a period of five years, through July 2006, the Petitioner(ex-husband) shall pay the Respondent(me), for the support of and maintenance of the Respondent, the sum of $XXX per month. Payment shall be made directly to the Respondent by automatic monthly bank account transfer. Payment shall be due and payable on the 15th of each month. The obligation to pay spousal support shall automatically terminate upon the death of either party. So long as Petitioner is obligated to pay spousal support and i employed in a job that rewards him with periodic bonus, Petitioner shall pay Respondent one-half of the net bonus amount he receives within 72 hours from the time Petitioner receives the check, as well as provide Respondent with a copy of the bonus check for her own records.
TAXES....Petitioner shall claim all four(4) children as dependent exemptions on his state and federal taxes for the duration that he is obligated to pay spousal support to the Respondent, beginning tax year 2001. During this period, if Respondent is working and earns enough money to file a tax return, and on the condition that it would be more beneficial for the Respondent to claim the children as dependents, Petitioner will pay directly to Respondent the sum of money that she would have received as tax refund if she were to have claimed the four children as tax exemptions.

I retained an attorney......He subpeoned his work records. I still don't understand my ex. He did absolutely no research on this before filing this motion. Over the last 3 1/2 years, he has been given $8000 in bonuses that he now owes me 1/2 net for. In addition to this the ex is making $10,000 per year more than when divorce decree and child support were first drawn up. My attorney said he sees spousal support being done away with as very highly unlikely given our family situation. He said we are going to subpoena his bank statements and if he still has his tax return in the bank we will be petitioning for a lump sum judgement of spousal support arrears. We will be petitioning for ex to pay attorneys fees given the fact that I had to hire an attorney to help me get what was already mine in the first place. Because of ex's increased income if spousal support is done away with his child support obligation is only $24 a month less than the combination of child and spousal support monthly. And he will no longer have the right to claim the kids as dependants on income tax returns. If the judge does not remove spousal support his total support obligation per month will go up by $320 per month. And either way he will owe me a few thousand in spousal support arrears.

I am looking forward to our court date. I still don't think my ex knows what he is in for when we go to court next week. My attorney said that my ex out and out lied in places on motion and financial affidavit or just omitted key information in others. Attorney said judge will not look kindly on my ex in court. YEAH!!!

I wonder if a judge will order your ex husband to continue paying alimony when you are now remarried. It will depend on your court order and the laws in your state. Why should you have two men supporting you?

VeronicaGia said:

I wonder if a judge will order your ex husband to continue paying alimony when you are now remarried. It will depend on your court order and the laws in your state. Why should you have two men supporting you?

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Well, at this point I really don't care what the ex wants. He has screwed me around for too many years. In Oregon you have the option to ask the state to re-evaluate child support every two years. It has been over 4 years since child support was established and I have never asked for a modification to the original support. Now it's over 4 years later and my ex petitioned the court to end my $425 spousal support. Well, ok if that's what he wants. I can live with this if that is what the judge orders, so be it. What I am angry about is that my ex is making over $10,000 a year more than he was 4 years ago. He lied on motion, he lied on his financial affidavit, he lied to my face. He had to file pay stubs with his motion. He was court ordered to pay me 1/2 of bonuses. According to state law this is actually part of gross pay and is subject to child support guidelines. So from this point forward it will be factored into the child support total. Maybe what I am saying doesn't make sense but he has been cheating me and our kids out of money rightfully our for 4 years and he just got caught. Whether the judge calls it child support or spousal support really doesn't matter. He will owe approximately the same dollar amout when it's all said and done. He tried to hide his gross income from me. His income tax return that he filed with the court with the motion had his adjusted gross income on it. Not his true gross income. Adjusted grosss is less his 401k, his health and dental insurance, and his life insurance. When I asked for W2's from last year he laughed and said absolutely not. So I subpeoned them. The only way to factor true child support is to have gross income totals not adjusted gross income. He tried to tell me we would factor child support off of his adjusted gross income. I'm sorry if this offends you but my kids deserve every penny the law allows. My ex sees the kids 4 days a month. No more, ever. Some months he sees them less. His choice. This truly isn't about the spousal support per se. But about his obligation to uphold his legal obligations that so far he is doing whatever he can do to shirk. I have run the numbers. His child support obligation is now, because of increased income, right at what spousal and child support combo is at right now. That is what I am concerned with. That the modification be done and that he pay me the arrears. Period.

VeronicaGia said:

I wonder if a judge will order your ex husband to continue paying alimony when you are now remarried. It will depend on your court order and the laws in your state. Why should you have two men supporting you?

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While I do agree with your logic, sometimes "short term alimony" is awarded in lieu of another tangible asset and survives the receipient's remarriage.

This is rehabitative alimoney and after reading the added facts, is NOT contingent on the ex-wife staying single. And unless there is something other than what was written here, the current action may ONLY consider the order as written.

I went to court today. The judge did not terminate spousal support. My attorney is filing a motion tomorrow on the spousal support arrears. The hearing will be in 2 or 3 weeks.

mom6stepmom2 said:

I went to court today. The judge did not terminate spousal support. My attorney is filing a motion tomorrow on the spousal support arrears. The hearing will be in 2 or 3 weeks.

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Thanks for the update. Its nice to know that the judge agreed with the answers you got here. Let us know what happens with the arrearages.

While I am glad for OP regarding the arrears in CS, the way the support was worded has really got to me.
Yes, he may have lied, but with an attitude like that - I can see why.
" he has what is mine" - "he owes me".

It's women like that who give the rest of us bad names. I don't think ANY human OWES another one squat.
He should be there financially for HIS kids, but that is all. Spousal support is a crock of crap as far as I am concerned. A woman NEEDS to be able to support herself and not rely on the EX's income to keep her means of living UP.

It kills me all these women who CHOOSE not to work during a marriage and then when the marriage disolves, these woman think the man owes them something. You probably had no problem spending his money while you were married, now you're spending it divorced. The only difference is you sleep under separate roof.
I just don't know..... I don't get it. Why tie yourself financially to a man? move on, make something of yourself.

I agree with the one post why should 2 men support you? I can just imagine when the second marriage fails. What a racket

ablessin said:

While I am glad for OP regarding the arrears in CS, the way the support was worded has really got to me.
Yes, he may have lied, but with an attitude like that - I can see why.
" he has what is mine" - "he owes me".

It's women like that who give the rest of us bad names. I don't think ANY human OWES another one squat.
He should be there financially for HIS kids, but that is all. Spousal support is a crock of crap as far as I am concerned. A woman NEEDS to be able to support herself and not rely on the EX's income to keep her means of living UP.

It kills me all these women who CHOOSE not to work during a marriage and then when the marriage disolves, these woman think the man owes them something. You probably had no problem spending his money while you were married, now you're spending it divorced. The only difference is you sleep under separate roof.
I just don't know..... I don't get it. Why tie yourself financially to a man? move on, make something of yourself.

I agree with the one post why should 2 men support you? I can just imagine when the second marriage fails. What a racket

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When he wrote, signed and filed the divorce decree as it states, he from that point forward became totally and completely obligated to uphold that agreement. He did not. He broke the law by not upholding that agreement. So yes he owes me.

ablessin said:

While I am glad for OP regarding the arrears in CS, the way the support was worded has really got to me.
Yes, he may have lied, but with an attitude like that - I can see why.
" he has what is mine" - "he owes me".

It's women like that who give the rest of us bad names. I don't think ANY human OWES another one squat.
He should be there financially for HIS kids, but that is all. Spousal support is a crock of crap as far as I am concerned. A woman NEEDS to be able to support herself and not rely on the EX's income to keep her means of living UP.

It kills me all these women who CHOOSE not to work during a marriage and then when the marriage disolves, these woman think the man owes them something. You probably had no problem spending his money while you were married, now you're spending it divorced. The only difference is you sleep under separate roof.
I just don't know..... I don't get it. Why tie yourself financially to a man? move on, make something of yourself.

I agree with the one post why should 2 men support you? I can just imagine when the second marriage fails. What a racket

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However, this isn't about opinion. Its about an amount of rehabilitative spousal support that he agreed to and was ordered to pay....and he has failed to honor those orders. For all you know, he agreed to this in order to get more favorable terms on the property settlement.

It isn't always a "racket".

You say CHOOSE to not work during the marriage this woman has kids and a home you don't consider keeping their home and caring for their children work, I am a SAHM and if my husband and I ever divorced I would expect a certain amount of spousal support. I went to collage and could have done allot carrier wise but chose not to pay someone else to care for our son and home while I was off working. In most cases such as ours we both decided that I would stay home. So lets say the couple has no real assets they rent their home and have little savings the husband makes 50k and the wife stays at home with their three children, they get a divorce what is she suppose to do move into a shack and try and live with her three children off the child support with depending on the judge and the state could be very minimal? She has invested her life in this family no the husband moves on still gets to live in a nice home and not have to deal with the kids but EOW and she lives in squallier because you think spousal support is a load of crap. I would only expect a month our two of spousal and CS until he is 18 but we have allot to split 50/50 and I could easily find work and only have 1 child but their are allot of people out there that have different situations, that’s why the court decide and it is not automatic most of the time you must be married long term as well. Anyway I get off my soap box now that just really ticked me off, Sorry.

Shel77 said:

I went to collage and could have done allot carrier wise

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Ahem. Not if it involved writing.

However, all of that is moot in this situation. The order is clear as to the ex's obligation and OP's remarriage has nothing to do with the situation.