Ask Me Help Desk - I am in Southern California and I'm in the process of getting a modification...

I am in Southern California and I'm in the process of getting a modification for my spousal support. There was supposed to be a hearing on 02/10/2012 but I learned that my ex has filed for a trial. I didn't know that could be done. We already had a 5 day trial for the divorce, and I didn't know that there could be another trial for simple modification of spousal support.

My question is: What will this trial involve? Will there be a rehashing of the divorce trial as that was already done 3 years ago. Can she call various people on the stand now that it's a trial and not a simple modification hearing?

Also, my ex has an abstract of judgment on my house and I was trying to get a loan. However, the amount that she and her attorneys have submitted to my loan company is not a correct figure. Since it's on attorney letterhead, my loan company says they need to pay that amount and I'll have to dispute it. How can I make sure the correct figure is used when my ex's attorney will not budge? They see it as FREE money since I need to get a loan for financial reasons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by desperateguy

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My question is: What will this trial involve? Will there be a rehashing of the divorce trial as that was already done 3 years ago. Can she call various people on the stand now that it's a trial and not a simple modification hearing?

All evidence introduced at the trial will have to be relevant to the motion to modify spousal support. So no, it should not be a rehashing of the other issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by desperateguy

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Also, my ex has an abstract of judgment on my house and I was trying to get a loan. However, the amount that she and her attorneys have submitted to my loan company is not a correct figure. Since it's on attorney letterhead, my loan company says they need to pay that amount and I'll have to dispute it. How can I make sure the correct figure is used when my ex's attorney will not budge? ...

File a motion to get the court to declare what the figure is. If she and her attorneys, by failing to give the correct figure, prevent you from getting the loan, you can sue them for damages.

Is there a reason besides wasting money that a trial is being favored over a hearing? Spousal support is a slam dunk because its done by formula. Are you trying to give the court reason to deviate from the given amount?

My ex is trying to make sure the court does NOT modify the spousal support. For the past 3 years, I have worked as a salaried employee. However, my support is based on when I owned a physical therapy clinic with my twin brother. I sold that business to him in order to pay the $300,000 equalization payment to my ex. I then worked for him as an employee. My ex and opposing counsel continue to state that I must be earning what my twin earns even though he's the owner and I'm an employee (one of six employees). The decision of the court upon my divorce showed that the judge believed I was not a credible witness and felt that I was working in collusion with my twin brother to "hide" my true income and had my income "imputed" to me at $400,000/year instead of my actual W2 of $120,000/year.

Thus, my spousal support is based upon an untrue and inaccurate figure and my ex wants to rehash up the credibility issue and have my income continue to be "imputed" at $400,000/year so she can collect more money from me.

When I was 50/50 owner with my twin brother, I made $400,000/year for 2 consecutive years, but a 5 year average was only $250,000/year. The court chose to only look at those 2 years as indicative of my salary. Because it took 3 years for the divorce to be final, those 2 consecutive years happened 3 years ago. I thought "current" income earnings were only supposed to look at the past 6 or 12 months, not 36 months ago.

Please offer some feedback.

I am in Southern California and I'm in the process of getting a modification for my spousal support. There was supposed to be a hearing on 02/10/2012 but I learned that my ex has filed for a trial. I didn't know that could be done. We already had a 5 day trial for the divorce, and I didn't know that there could be another trial for simple modification of spousal support.

My question is: What will this trial involve? Will there be a rehashing of the divorce trial as that was already done 3 years ago. Can she call various people on the stand now that it's a trial and not a simple modification hearing?

Also, my ex has an abstract of judgment on my house and I was trying to get a loan. However, the amount that she and her attorneys have submitted to my loan company is not a correct figure. Since it's on attorney letterhead, my loan company says they need to pay that amount and I'll have to dispute it. How can I make sure the correct figure is used when my ex's attorney will not budge? They see it as FREE money since I need to get a loan for financial reasons.

Califdadof3 answered: Is there a reason besides wasting money that a trial is being favored over a hearing? Spousal support is a slam dunk because its done by formula. Are you trying to give the court reason to deviate from the given amount?

My response is below:

My ex is trying to make sure the court does NOT modify the spousal support. For the past 3 years, I have worked as a salaried employee. However, my support is based on when I owned a physical therapy clinic with my twin brother. I sold that business to him in order to pay the $300,000 equalization payment to my ex. I then worked for him as an employee. My ex and opposing counsel continue to state that I must be earning what my twin earns even though he's the owner and I'm an employee (one of six employees). The decision of the court upon my divorce showed that the judge believed I was not a credible witness and felt that I was working in collusion with my twin brother to "hide" my true income and had my income "imputed" to me at $400,000/year instead of my actual W2 of $120,000/year.

Thus, my spousal support is based upon an untrue and inaccurate figure and my ex wants to rehash up the credibility issue and have my income continue to be "imputed" at $400,000/year so she can collect more money from me.

When I was 50/50 owner with my twin brother, I made $400,000/year for 2 consecutive years, but a 5 year average was only $250,000/year. The court chose to only look at those 2 years as indicative of my salary. Because it took 3 years for the divorce to be final, those 2 consecutive years happened 3 years ago. I thought "current" income earnings were only supposed to look at the past 6 or 12 months, not 36 months ago.

Please offer some feedback.

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They shouldn't "guess" that your acting in colusion to reduce your salary. There is either proof or not. Force them to stand on the truth and have your W2's and tax forms that you have filed ready if needed. Let them show bank statements to prove extra money has been floating around. Was there a written contract for the sale of the business? If so be prepared to show it.

I ran out of money very quickly because my support orders exceeded my monthly income so I had to borrow money from my family (promissory notes). After I borrowed over $100,000, I was advised to borrow from friends since it looked "bad" that I always borrowed money from my family.
Friends didn't have enough $ so I had my family loan money to my friends so they could loan me money. The promissory notes were drafted with my friends' names, not my family, as I was advised.
Now my ex is taking me to court saying that the notes are false and that it should be regarded as part of my salary, stating that I'm filtering money from my brother's business (in which I was a 50% owner until I had to liquidate my share to him to pay the $300,000 equalization payment to my ex). What should I do?

I have an attorney, and I have consulted with several attorneys. They all said that the decision of the court was extremely one sided. From the start, my temporary orders (as well as the permanent orders) exceeded my takehome paycheck. When I did not pay the full support, my ex took me to court for CONTEMPT and I had to borrow more money to pay the full amount. She is a medical professional that decided NOT to work after working for over 10 years in the industry, saying that she cannot find a job. Her last day of work coincided with the month that my divorce was final and the judge seemed to have pity on her.
The court believes that I can earn $400,000/year based upon when I owned 50% of the business with my brother. However, I sold my share and have been working as a W2 wage earner for the past 3 years. I formally sold the business and showed the Buy Sell Agreement to the court as well as the amount I received from selling my share (which all went to my ex)