Court order to pay for arrears on step child

[peggyt74]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I am in a contentious divorce. The judge has ruled that 1)my filing income tax married/separate should be amended to married/jointly
2)That the amended return be split 50/50 to pay for child support arrearages on a child from my husband's previous marriage (case not even in our county)
3)My soon to be ex is in contempt by not following the standing order, house payments, utilities, ins. unpaid as well as asset dumping.
4)My soon to be ex is in contempt for child support for our 2 minor children and in contempt for non payment of spousal support
5)My ex forged my signature on amended return and
6)I received the return in my account and caught up the house payments and utilities, resulting in a "staying" on foreclosure
7)I am court ordered to give my ex 7K in 10 days for his support obligations to his 1st wife while our 2 children and I are barely surviving
8)This is our 5th hearing and there is still no help

WHAT A MESS!!! Are there case histories on these rulings?? Is this legal? What about my/our kids?

 

[Gracie3787]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I am in a contentious divorce. The judge has ruled that 1)my filing income tax married/separate should be amended to married/jointly
2)That the amended return be split 50/50 to pay for child support arrearages on a child from my husband's previous marriage (case not even in our county)
3)My soon to be ex is in contempt by not following the standing order, house payments, utilities, ins. unpaid as well as asset dumping.
4)My soon to be ex is in contempt for child support for our 2 minor children and in contempt for non payment of spousal support
5)My ex forged my signature on amended return and
6)I received the return in my account and caught up the house payments and utilities, resulting in a "staying" on foreclosure
7)I am court ordered to give my ex 7K in 10 days for his support obligations to his 1st wife while our 2 children and I are barely surviving
8)This is our 5th hearing and there is still no help

WHAT A MESS!!! Are there case histories on these rulings?? Is this legal? What about my/our kids?

There is something missing here because what you posted really deosn't make sense.

Rather than give your version of what the Judge ordered, it will help if you explain exactly what was filed, and what the EXACT wording of the resulting order is.

Also, have you filed any contempt motions for ex not paying CS and spousal support to you?
If you have, what was the exact wording of the order on those motions?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I am in a contentious divorce. The judge has ruled that 1)my filing income tax married/separate should be amended to married/jointly

Ok, you originally filed a separate return and the judge ordered you to amend that to file a joint return. That isn't unusual.

2)That the amended return be split 50/50 to pay for child support arrearages on a child from my husband's previous marriage (case not even in our county)

Ok, the judge ordered you to split the additional refund. Again, that is not unusual. The fact that his share is going for his past due child support really isn't relevant.

3)My soon to be ex is in contempt by not following the standing order, house payments, utilities, ins. unpaid as well as asset dumping.

Has the judge ruled that he is in contempt? What did the judge order him to do as a result of that?

4)My soon to be ex is in contempt for child support for our 2 minor children and in contempt for non payment of spousal support

Same questions as above.

5)My ex forged my signature on amended return and
6)I received the return in my account and caught up the house payments and utilities, resulting in a "staying" on foreclosure

He should not have done that, but you were ordered to give him half the refund and you didn't.

7)I am court ordered to give my ex 7K in 10 days for his support obligations to his 1st wife while our 2 children and I are barely surviving
8)This is our 5th hearing and there is still no help

What did the judge say when you defended your actions by explaining that because he hasn't been paying what he is supposed to be paying that you had to use the money to keep the house from foreclosure? What did the judge say when you defended yourself stating that you kept the money for some of the arrearages due to you?

WHAT A MESS!!! Are there case histories on these rulings?? Is this legal? What about my/our kids?

Do you have an attorney? If not, then it really may be time for one.

 

[peggyt74]

Court ordered to pay arrears on step child

I have an atty. She follows the rules and procedures. The judge is new and inexperienced in family law.
We have filed contempt motions 2x, but the judge allows the other party to deviate and no rulings ever get recorded and certainly not enforced. We have another coming up at the end of the month.
1)My ex made 132K in 08, has always made good $. He can set his own hours in the health care industry and has cut his hours to manipulate the rulings.
We have subpenaed his employer.

2)This latest ruling came from their motion to enforce, the judge will not rule on my arrearage amounts, which has been heard 2x and now growing and going on the 3rd hearing for this matter. The exact wording on the motion regards to contempt on the standing order and address the arrearage affidavit.

3) The order stated that 7K will go to my ex within 10 days of the motion to be paid to his ex for child support arrears.By the way, I seriously doubt that he will give 7K to his ex as no proof of receipt was ordered.

4) The arrears happened after the 18th birthday of the child, and my ex spent 20K to make sure his support obligations ended on the 18th bday as his child is special needs, and on SSI. The circuit court down South has kept the clock ticking money wise, he needs to go and fix this, has previous court order but is using this to manipulate this court. We have documentation but this court does not or will not consider this...the words "special needs" arouses compassion, as it should. THe daughter is now 19 and will be in school until she turns 21....but, he signed over guardianship to his ex and his adult daughter (26).

5)IRS has sent an intercept letter to address this on behalf of the daughter down South.

6)DOR is taking extra $ to correct the arrears for the daughter down South.

7)I have exclusive use and custody of the home and even though I will be taxed on spousal support, he is court ordered to give it directly to the mortgage company and he has not...his words "I"LL see you on the street" and "If you really loved the kids, you'd leave them with me in the house" He testafied that if I quick claim, he will forgive me the 7K (we've owned this house for over 15 years) and he'd then catch up on the mortgage.

8)He also testafied that he wants to fly (he's has a commercial airline license) out of Mexico, so he needs his passport to be cleared because of any past due support obligations.....

9)He has kept all credit cards, mortgages, bank accounts, titles in his name only so my hands are tied and he owes 180K in unsecured debt. He has not made any payments on this house since 3/09, we have a second home in foreclosure in another state, and he quit paying on credit cards in 7/08. He claims I ran up 2K in a cell phone bill with no documentation. The truth is, he pays for a family plan, 5 phones, and I have had mine suspended for 5 months now, I have my own. He just does not pay!!

10) We have been separated for over 19 months and he has seen the kids 2x and has not given ONE DIME to help with their needs, school, sports, clothes, food, shelter....

11)There is a strong history of domestic violence, documented, on me, my son from a previous marriage, our son, and his daughter from a previous marriage. I am filing for soul custody and a Spousal Tort

12)I have been impuned minimum wage on the child support as I am a full time student working towards my masters and state boards to eventually make enough $ to stand on my own two feet. This is an 18 year marriage and I am 54...always been a private school teacher, and ALWAYS been the parent raising the children as he has always been away, flying in different states or working in out of town hospitals, or working midnights at the hospital, and several long term affairs (no fault will not let those facts out). I do not intend to have my student loans a part of the settlement as they are for my future.

Thank you for all input...

So, since I have no $....I really don't want to go to jail, but I used every dime to keep this house afloat and help his credit. The judge would not consider, at this time, that the 7K be addressed during the equitable divison stage...we will have to go to trial.

 

[LdiJ]

I have an atty. She follows the rules and procedures. The judge is new and inexperienced in family law.
We have filed contempt motions 2x, but the judge allows the other party to deviate and no rulings ever get recorded and certainly not enforced. We have another coming up at the end of the month.
1)My ex made 132K in 08, has always made good $. He can set his own hours in the health care industry and has cut his hours to manipulate the rulings.
We have subpenaed his employer.

2)This latest ruling came from their motion to enforce, the judge will not rule on my arrearage amounts, which has been heard 2x and now growing and going on the 3rd hearing for this matter. The exact wording on the motion regards to contempt on the standing order and address the arrearage affidavit.

3) The order stated that 7K will go to my ex within 10 days of the motion to be paid to his ex for child support arrears.By the way, I seriously doubt that he will give 7K to his ex as no proof of receipt was ordered.

4) The arrears happened after the 18th birthday of the child, and my ex spent 20K to make sure his support obligations ended on the 18th bday as his child is special needs, and on SSI. The circuit court down South has kept the clock ticking money wise, he needs to go and fix this, has previous court order but is using this to manipulate this court. We have documentation but this court does not or will not consider this...the words "special needs" arouses compassion, as it should. THe daughter is now 19 and will be in school until she turns 21....but, he signed over guardianship to his ex and his adult daughter (26).

5)IRS has sent an intercept letter to address this on behalf of the daughter down South.

6)DOR is taking extra $ to correct the arrears for the daughter down South.

7)I have exclusive use and custody of the home and even though I will be taxed on spousal support, he is court ordered to give it directly to the mortgage company and he has not...his words "I"LL see you on the street" and "If you really loved the kids, you'd leave them with me in the house" He testafied that if I quick claim, he will forgive me the 7K (we've owned this house for over 15 years) and he'd then catch up on the mortgage.

8)He also testafied that he wants to fly (he's has a commercial airline license) out of Mexico, so he needs his passport to be cleared because of any past due support obligations.....

9)He has kept all credit cards, mortgages, bank accounts, titles in his name only so my hands are tied and he owes 180K in unsecured debt. He has not made any payments on this house since 3/09, we have a second home in foreclosure in another state, and he quit paying on credit cards in 7/08. He claims I ran up 2K in a cell phone bill with no documentation. The truth is, he pays for a family plan, 5 phones, and I have had mine suspended for 5 months now, I have my own. He just does not pay!!

10) We have been separated for over 19 months and he has seen the kids 2x and has not given ONE DIME to help with their needs, school, sports, clothes, food, shelter....

11)There is a strong history of domestic violence, documented, on me, my son from a previous marriage, our son, and his daughter from a previous marriage. I am filing for soul custody and a Spousal Tort

12)I have been impuned minimum wage on the child support as I am a full time student working towards my masters and state boards to eventually make enough $ to stand on my own two feet. This is an 18 year marriage and I am 54...always been a private school teacher, and ALWAYS been the parent raising the children as he has always been away, flying in different states or working in out of town hospitals, or working midnights at the hospital, and several long term affairs (no fault will not let those facts out). I do not intend to have my student loans a part of the settlement as they are for my future.

Thank you for all input...

So, since I have no $....I really don't want to go to jail, but I used every dime to keep this house afloat and help his credit. The judge would not consider, at this time, that the 7K be addressed during the equitable divison stage...we will have to go to trial.

You aren't going to go to jail, but your attorney really needs to step up her game and get the judge to rule on his contempt for non-payment of child and spousal support.

You also need to consider moving out of the marital home and into something more affordable, since clearly your stbx is not going to willingly pay support...and appears to be willing to allow the marital assets to disappear via foreclosures etc.

You also need to consider uping your student loans and/or getting some part time work to help supplement your income.

I am sorry for the situation that you find yourself in.

 

[peggyt74]

Court ordered to pay for arrears on step child

In my opinion, I paid an attorney for 3 1/2 hours at a hearing for a motion of contempt regarding the arrearage amount only to get an order stating his child of a different county and by a previous marriage be taken care of and our children are still not considered at this time. At that hearing, my alimony and child support amount was reheard and lowered. No where in any of the filings was this mentioned to be heard....by his side or mine. The judge lost control of the hearing and consequently, the kids lost.....

The judge did ask me what I wanted to correct it and we made some suggestions, even addressing some equitable division items. This was not ruled on. Now we are on our 5th or 6th hearing in 6 months.....why does a standing order in FL exist if not adhered to? I am very frustrated...I just want the divorce statutes upheld, period.

 

[peggyt74]

As suggested, my attorney is stepping up and we have a contempt hearing for non payment of alimony and child support (for my case)... a few more questions.

1) I was awarded exclusive use and custody of the house and today, my STBX just showed up, walked in, and started grilling our 12yr old about where his belt was, flight manuals (he's an unemployed airline pilot and an employed RN), where his lint roller was, etc.

2) I asked him to leave, told him to call first with items and I would be happy to get them for him, he wouldn't, stated this was his house, etc. He ignored our 12 yr old's concerns about getting to school. I asked him to take her and I would get his stuff, he ignored both of us and continued to ransack.

3) He said he did not have $ to pay CS or ALM, would not pay, and was giving the house back to the bank so we would be out on the street.

4) He said he was filing contempt charges on me for the 7K (1/2 income tax return I used to catch up house payment, helping us all) because he needed it not to catch up his arrears with my stepchild, but to help with his new flying endeavor...

Should I be concerned? Should I get a restraining order? If I did, would this muddy up an already contentious divorce and be worse on me?

 

[LdiJ]

As suggested, my attorney is stepping up and we have a contempt hearing for non payment of alimony and child support (for my case)... a few more questions.

1) I was awarded exclusive use and custody of the house and today, my STBX just showed up, walked in, and started grilling our 12yr old about where his belt was, flight manuals (he's an unemployed airline pilot and an employed RN), where his lint roller was, etc.

2) I asked him to leave, told him to call first with items and I would be happy to get them for him, he wouldn't, stated this was his house, etc. He ignored our 12 yr old's concerns about getting to school. I asked him to take her and I would get his stuff, he ignored both of us and continued to ransack.

3) He said he did not have $ to pay CS or ALM, would not pay, and was giving the house back to the bank so we would be out on the street.

4) He said he was filing contempt charges on me for the 7K (1/2 income tax return I used to catch up house payment, helping us all) because he needed it not to catch up his arrears with my stepchild, but to help with his new flying endeavor...

Should I be concerned? Should I get a restraining order? If I did, would this muddy up an already contentious divorce and be worse on me?

He should not be entering your house at his whim. You were given exclusive use. You can get a restraining order against him or you could add that into the contempt case.

Be sure to testify if he tries to find you in contempt, that he stated that he needed the money for his new flying endeavor, and that he did not intend to use it for child support for his other child. Also testify that he said that he wasn't going to pay CS or Alimony and that he was giving the house back to the bank.

However, based on past history, you are probably going to have a hard time collecting support from him.