Ex Hiding income to get child support?

[tyrsfury]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My ex-husband and I have 4 children, three of which are under the age of 17. Two of the children are with me (ages 12 and 14) the other child (16) is with him and he pays me approximately $310.00 per month in childsupport. We've been involved in a custody/Child support battle for almost 8 months now. As details were worked out and drawn down we finally reached what I was told was an agreement between both parties and their lawyers.

Within the past week I received new paperwork indicating that I now had to PAY HIM child support. I make around $25 and hour working 32 hours a week so my income level is decent but not excessive. According to him and his lawyer he only makes $15/hour.

The problem is that 10 years ago when we divoreced he was making $15/hr. He has had the same job for 14+ years as an equipment mechanic and is part of a union. His place of employment is very reputable and provides it's employees with a vast array of benifits. The odds that he has not received a raise, even a cost of living raise in 10 years is highly unlikely to me.

How would I find out or have my lawyer find out if he is hiding his income for the sole purpose of getting child support from me?

Thx

 

[AmarieNorton]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My ex-husband and I have 4 children, three of which are under the age of 17. Two of the children are with me (ages 12 and 14) the other child (16) is with him and he pays me approximately $310.00 per month in childsupport. We've been involved in a custody/Child support battle for almost 8 months now. As details were worked out and drawn down we finally reached what I was told was an agreement between both parties and their lawyers.

Within the past week I received new paperwork indicating that I now had to PAY HIM child support. I make around $25 and hour working 32 hours a week so my income level is decent but not excessive. According to him and his lawyer he only makes $15/hour.

The problem is that 10 years ago when we divoreced he was making $15/hr. He has had the same job for 14+ years as an equipment mechanic and is part of a union. His place of employment is very reputable and provides it's employees with a vast array of benifits. The odds that he has not received a raise, even a cost of living raise in 10 years is highly unlikely to me.

How would I find out or have my lawyer find out if he is hiding his income for the sole purpose of getting child support from me?

Thx

Have you suponeaed (sp?) his tax filings? That'll show what he's making.

 

[GrowUp!]

Have you suponeaed (sp?) his tax filings? That'll show what he's making.

Umm...tax returns are usually MANDATORY during any support modification.

OP...so you think because he's been there for 14 years, he should be making more than you? Just because someone's been w/a company for that long does not mean they should be making that much more money. Especially with the economy it has been over the past several years.

You even admitted that his company offers their employees a "vast array of benefits." That alone speaks volumes because there are alot of companies who might not pay their employees "all that much" for whatever reason(s), so they try to compensate with more benefits (longer vacations, more personal/sick days, better health coverage, other perks, etc). It's also possible his wages *might* be tied into performance and other goals -- either personally, company-wide or both. I know with my company, any cost of living increase is based on personal AND company-wide performance. Alot of factors. Not everyone is guarantee a raise every year (unless you're a politician...But, I digress...)

Even IF he's getting 1% or 2% each year, for example, it's not all that much more. annually. Let's be honest, you ARE making more money than he is -- substantially more. And $25/hour is a damn good hourly rate compared to what the average American makes nowadays.

 

[tigger22472]

Umm...tax returns are usually MANDATORY during any support modification.

OP...so you think because he's been there for 14 years, he should be making more than you? Just because someone's been w/a company for that long does not mean they should be making that much more money. Especially with the economy it has been over the past several years.

You even admitted that his company offers their employees a "vast array of benefits." That alone speaks volumes because there are alot of companies who might not pay their employees "all that much" for whatever reason(s), so they try to compensate with more benefits (longer vacations, more personal/sick days, better health coverage, other perks, etc). It's also possible his wages *might* be tied into performance and other goals -- either personally, company-wide or both. I know with my company, any cost of living increase is based on personal AND company-wide performance. Alot of factors. Not everyone is guarantee a raise every year (unless you're a politician...But, I digress...)

Even IF he's getting 1% or 2% each year, for example, it's not all that much more. annually. Let's be honest, you ARE making more money than he is -- substantially more. And $25/hour is a damn good hourly rate compared to what the average American makes nowadays.

She's not saying that he should be making MORE than her. What she's saying is that the income listed is the same amount that he was making 10 years ago at the same company. I tend to agree with her if these are the facts.

OP this is something you need to be discussing and settling soon with your attorney.

 

[GrowUp!]

She's not saying that he should be making MORE than her. What she's saying is that the income listed is the same amount that he was making 10 years ago at the same company. I tend to agree with her if these are the facts.

OP this is something you need to be discussing and settling soon with your attorney.

After re-reading the OP's original response, there was no mention of how much SHE was making 10 years ago. Perhaps she might think because he's been paying, that he should continue to pay. Plus, who's providing the medical coverage (I would guess him).

Also, if they've been going back-and-forth over the past 8 months, I would find it hard to believe that child support wouldn't have come up (especially if they had to exchange the past few years of tax returns).
Just some tidbits I noticed...

 

[nextwife]

She's not saying that he should be making MORE than her. What she's saying is that the income listed is the same amount that he was making 10 years ago at the same company. I tend to agree with her if these are the facts.

OP this is something you need to be discussing and settling soon with your attorney.

In my industry, many people are making LESS than ten years ago, because the cost of our product has dropped so much in the marketplace, and there are so many more companies competing for the same pie. Well, commisssions are about half what they were in the mid 90s beccause almost every order pays about half or less what it used to. I know some other people my age who are making less than ten years ago because of the state of their "industry" in this market. In my husband's business, very few domestic manufacturters are left, and many of those are shutting their doors because they are so beat up on pricing. THus they make far less per unit than years ago.

Yes, there are people in several segments of the economy who are now making less than years ago.