Divorce & Perjury - How would the courts respond to this?

[Hombre]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I have filed for a divorce in Illinois. My Husband has lied about everything he was asked when about his financial status.

He is hiding money and even lied when asked specific questions under oath.

Under oath he stated he only makes $30,000.00 per year. The fact is he has not made less than $70,000.00 for the last 10 years.

I find myself draining myself financially to prove he is lying.

Once I prove this, how are the courts likely to respond to his perjury?

Can I recover my losses / expenses required to prove he is lying?

 

[cyana]

One thing....

I've learned from own divorce experience and that of others, both men and women from other divorce boards, is that many spouses lie, lie, lie. And unless you have supporting documentation (i.e., proof of cash or other assets stashed, or proof that he has substantially understated his income, etc.) you may be "screwed".

1. Do you have a lawyer and has he asked for full financial discovery? If not, I can email you an excellent article on the pros and cons of the "discovery process".

2. Do you have children together?

3. Do you meet the requirements to be eligible for any period of spousal support/maintenance/alimony?

4. Do you have assets to be equitably divided? How about debts? Can you prove that he "squandered the marital estate", in other words do you have receipts that prove he was living beyond the reasonable means of a $30K income?

5. Has (assuming you have one) your lawyer recommended that you get an analysis of what his true "earning capacity" is, usually by a third party such as a vocational specialist?

I wish you much luck... my ex did exactly same thing (told the very same lies) to me. I tried to fight the "good fight" but, in the end, I ran out of money, too.

 

[djohnson]

Do you have your tax returns where you filed together? Is he represented by an attorney? Is it possible (because I have seen this) that is what he makes a year and the other is in bonuses or commitions? This will make a difference if not guaranteed income.

 

[Hombre]

Documentation

I have absolute proof that he is lying. His pay is being subpeoned from his employer. It is not bonus, although he does make overtime. He has lied about his base salary, reporting it to be half of what it really is.

I absolutly know his perjury will be proven. My concern is how the Judge would likely respond?

How relevant is this to my case?

I am ready to give up if he can get away with this lying.

 

[Hombre]

Thanks.....

I'm a little stressed and forgot my manors....

Thank you to all who reply..... I do truely appreciate your response.

 

[djohnson]

His overtime will likely not be counted unless is guaranteed. If you are getting those records then that is where to start. He can always say it was a confusion or he thought that was the base. He can drag it out and so can you costing you both lots of money. Chances are he may get warned but nothing big will happen especially if he is being represented by an attorney.

 

[Hombre]

More information....

I am sorry for not disclosing everything but I do not feel comfortable placing too many details on the internet.

The fact is he has perjured himself about his income, assets, actions and more....

I have absolute proof that this was intentional. With the information I am speaking about, there is absolutley no way anyone could judge it otherwise.

I do appreciate your response on how he may get out of the perjury, I am looking for historical information on how the Judge would typically respond to perjury in a divorce case.

Thank you once again.

 

[VeronicaGia]

Cyana

I've learned from own divorce experience and that of others, both men and women from other divorce boards, is that many spouses lie, lie, lie. And unless you have supporting documentation (i.e., proof of cash or other assets stashed, or proof that he has substantially understated his income, etc.) you may be "screwed".

1. Do you have a lawyer and has he asked for full financial discovery? If not, I can email you an excellent article on the pros and cons of the "discovery process".


I would appreciate it if you e-mailed me this article, not that I'm going through a divorce, but for my own information.

[email protected]

Thanks!

 

[cyana]

Sure I can Veronica.

I emailed a copy yesterday to Hombre.

 

[VeronicaGia]

Got it! Thanks...

I emailed a copy yesterday to Hombre.

 

[clarabeljustice]

Perjury is rampant

The law itself in most jurisdictions seems to state that (Perjury in Our Family Courts: Family Lawyers BEWARE!) absolutely NOTHING your ex or their lawyer says about you in court during divorce can be considered libel or slander.

So when one party decides to take the gloves off, prepare yourself for a bumpy ride.

Some parties in messy divorces have found novel ways of fighting back however. One Canadian father created a website (lornamyates | Just another WordPress.com site) to try to gather complaints about the lawyer from other people who've witnessed their unethical behaviour, to show a pattern of abuse to the law society. It'll be interesting to follow how that strategy pans out, as from the about that lawyer on the lawyer's rating page (Lorna Yates - 5 Lawyer Reviews & Ratings - LawyerRatingz.com complaints) there appear to be a number of others with similar complaints.

Another potential option besides libel and slander is pursuing the charge of perjury such as did one father in New York (Perjury and Divorce). Doing so can have the side benefit of getting rid of an unethical lawyer on the opposing side since it might be a conflict for the lawyer to represent your ex and be personally involved in a separate case against you at the same time. Needless to say however, tangling with an unethical lawyer this way can be taking the tiger by the tail.

While it seems unfair to blame the victim, in the case of perjury it's almost impossible to reign in the offending party or their lawyer. The only recourse might be a little prevention on your part. Perhaps try to avoid any situation that could potentially be misconstrued by your ex. Especially if your ex is a little vindictive, moderately dishonest, or even worse a lot crazy and completely incapable of seeing that outside their bubble of nuttiness, you are a real person with legitimate claims.

 

[justalayman]

it is not normally acceptable to post to 9 year old posts. I suspect the OP's divorce situation was taken care of long ago.

 

[mistoffolees]

I am sorry for not disclosing everything but I do not feel comfortable placing too many details on the internet.

The fact is he has perjured himself about his income, assets, actions and more....

I have absolute proof that this was intentional. With the information I am speaking about, there is absolutley no way anyone could judge it otherwise.

I do appreciate your response on how he may get out of the perjury, I am looking for historical information on how the Judge would typically respond to perjury in a divorce case.

Thank you once again.

I would suggest that you consult with a local attorney. Many attorneys will give you a free consultation. Every judge differs in their response, so it would be helpful to talk with a local attorney.

However, in general, I would not focus so much on 'perjury' as on getting the actual facts on the table. If you focus on perjury, it comes across as punitive and the judge may not go along. OTOH, if you say "the facts he gave you are incorrect and here are the correct facts", it looks like you're only trying to get what's fair.

In the most egregious cases, the judge can award 100% of any hidden assets to the other spouse. I would be pushing for something like that rather than looking for a penalty for perjury.

 

[justalayman]

I would suggest that you consult with a local attorney. Many attorneys will give you a free consultation. Every judge differs in their response, so it would be helpful to talk with a local attorney.

misto, I would suggest you checking the post dates to the post you are responding to. (05-06-2003)

 

[mistoffolees]

misto, I would suggest you checking the post dates to the post you are responding to. (05-06-2003)

Sorry, someone else had posted to it, so it came up as a current thread.