Alo, as many of you know, my W is working for the OM and is paying me child support at this point (haven't signed any of the dissolution paperwork yet, but should be in the mail any day now)....<P> My question is, is it possible to find out if she's being paid under the table? It'd be quite easy for her to pay herself out of the company checkbook or with petty cash; I'm sure he wouldn't mind.<P>theo

Yes, it is quite possible, as my lawyer told me once upon a time. All it requires is about $10,000 to hire a CPA firm to audit his company. I'm not sure if a judge would order an audit, as they do not have the resources to investigate criminal action. A judicious smearing and slandering and hinting session, however, if done in good taste, may cause the judge to be more skeptical about her income, and adjust your obligations accordingly. A thousand dollars worth of slanderous hints from your lawyer in motions may be cheaper - regardless nothing is a guarantee. A lot of what happens in court is the whim of the judge.<P>Hang in there - losing money's always tough!!<P>H

Did you guys do the full disclosure of assets/liabilities ? <P>My x tried to do the same thing, in that she way under reported her income, saying she made $20 grand when she made $29. She said it was a negoiating point her lawyer suggested. I told her everything else was negotiable but not the child support.<P>We countered by guestimating what her income would be if she worked full time and based our child support on that. <P>She finally aggreed on $29000 as her income, which was based on her 98 part time salary.<P>She ended up earning $33,000 last year working almost full time. She just informed me she got a new full time job and was going to also work on call at her old job on call, so she will have the oppurtunity to make upto $40,000. <P>So I don't know whether to ask her nicely to bump up the support or to just petition the state so that they do it.<P>Best of luck,<P>Bob

Bob,<BR>The thing about full disclosure is proof. If she is getting money under the table, she can lie about it, and her tax filings will match her lies. The only way she could be caught, is if she were obviously living beyond her means. Even then, she could say her boyfriend or whatever 'helped' out - I don't think you can impugne (sp?) earnings out of gifts from someone.<P>H

H,<BR>I agree with you. I guess it depends upon how dishonest w and lawyer are. Are they willing to lie on a legal document?<P>Bob

thanks Bob & Harlequin...sounds like not much hope unless she starts picking up the kids in a limo . I'm sure she'd keep a low profile on it though....<P>Bob, I saw in another thread that the OM dumped your wife and before she fired her lawyer. Were those two instances related? Why did the OM dump her? Did she want to come back to you at all?<P>I'm assuming they got back together and all is peachy with them today....<P>theo

Hmmm? I think my Wife is working for wankboy. I believe he is the only person in his company (construction). Don't know if he is paying her under the table or not, but at least he's getting sex AND work from her, eh?<P>She could claim very little income just say she is living off him.<P>------------------<BR>Prayers & God Bless!<BR>Chris<BR>For relationship info check out <A HREF="http://www.pcisys.net/~chriscal1/resources.html" TARGET=_blank>Marriage & Relationship Resources</A>

In a full disclosure, does that include bank account statements. Don't they have to explain where the money comes from and goes to? If she's getting extra money, I'm sure she wouldn't be hiding it in the mattress. My H seems to be moving money and I intend to make him explain every move.<P>Just wondering.

The problem is, that a lot of things can be paid for in cash. If he/she doesn't deposit the money, clothes, gas, groceries, babysitters, etc. can all be paid for in cash. If they are smart, there will be bills for all of the above, but they can 'show' $50 for groceries, and actually pay $150 a week - with the remaining $100 paid in cash. The judge might suspect that there is not full disclosure, however, without proof it is a coint toss over whether the judge will decide whether that is the case or not. Your lawyer is responsible for bringing these things to the judge's attention.<P>X was stupid enough to only claim an income of $18,000 a year when working for his parents. We got another 18-20,000 under the table. When he tried (his father) to sue me for $12,000 worth of rent on our house (which was in his f's name) we asked the judge how a man making 18,000 could possibly be paying 12,000 in rent? He had to backpedal and lie saying that half of it was a company perk. I still ended up owing $3000 for my half of the remaining, but it was a lot better than the original 12,000.<P>It has to be something stupidly obvious like the above. Otherwise, one can easily hide thousands of dollars in extra income. (sadly enough )<P>H

I have a different but related question.<P>If x's income goes up, can you have your child support increased. How do you get records to prove you should be entitled to more money based on a percentage of his income?

Cinderella, it's percentage based here in Ohio and child support is taken directly from a paycheck (garnishment of wages). The child welfare agency is supposed to keep track of your spouse's income. Any raise/lowering of wages would change your support, so the answer is 'YES'.<P> I'm still a rookie at this, but that's what my lawyer explained to me.<P>theo<P>

Theo,<BR>Om dumped my x last Oct the nite before they were to go on a cruise, his w gave him an ultimatum that if he took my then w, he would bnever she her or her kids, grandchildren again. At that time, we attempted another reconciliation and at that time she got rid of her lawyer.<P>It lasted about a month, really a week by her, and then she got back with om and at that time I had enough and restarted the papers which were in my lawyers hands.<P>I'm checking with my lawyer right now in regards to the child support. I was under the understanding that my child support was based upon the salary we agreed upon. That was based on her 1998 part time salary. <P>She has been working almost full time since late last year and in fact made $4000 more than we our agreed upon amount. She has just accepted another job which is full time and she will be probably making upwards of $7-8,000 more plus she reportedly will be available for work at the old place of employement on a as needed basis. So she could end up making upwards of $11000 more. <P>I am under the impression that I will still receive child support based upon the amount we agreed upon unless I petition the court for a change and show her increased income. I do have her 1999 W2 (she had me do her taxes) so I know what she made last year. I'm not sure what she is making this year, but assume it is a lateral move so I know her salary range.<P>I'll keep you posted.<P>Me, you and thl will have to get together sometime. My boss just told me I will be taking over handling of the Columbus area.<P><BR>WO, <BR>When I did my finacial disclosure, I did provide everything including bank statements. My x never completed one, as her lawyer never made her. They tried to buffalo me, but since I handled all the finances I knew where everwhere was and how much she made. I guess I could have been dishonest and lied about my various retirement vehicles and could have gotten off cheaper in the settlement, but I was upfront about everything.<P>Bob<BR>Bob<p>[This message has been edited by RWD (edited June 29, 2000).]

Bob, the OM's W ultimatum wasn't enough, I assume. Sorry to hear that...<P> Your x's wages aren't garnished, eh? Both lawyers made it sound like that was an automatic thing and that the percentage base would take into account her pay raises (I made sure I asked the 'what happens if her wages increase' question right off); maybe that's just in Franklin County...<P> If that's not the case with you, why not ask her politely and then take her to court if she refuses? Sounds like a standard procedure to me...<P> Also, I'm up for the 'get together' invite. I'm centrally located (I work at OSU); restricted only by my two daughters' schedules . You know the Zips and Buckeyes clash in a head-to-head football showdown next September?<P>theo<P>

Theo,<BR>Yea, x and om have been back together since last fall. I think they were only apart about two weeks(the 1 week was when he went on the cruise himself). They bought a house together on the other side of town. I heard some rumors she is pushing for marriage.<P>The child support is garnished from her wages and comes from the county child protective services, but is being taken over by the state, yikes there goes reliablity I bet. I was getting the checks every two weeks.<P>My lawyer says that here in Medina Cty, they doo not keep track of wages, while in Summit, they do a review after two years for free. After that it is upto the individual to keep track. <P>It sounds like it is different for each county then. I don't know what the state taking over will have to do to that process.<P>I'm debating what to do about seeking more child support. Things are pretty stable, except for the vacation which was a financial setback, but recoverable from.<P>I'm afraid x will get p****d and could go for custody. I kind of doubt she would do that other than to get back at me as I truly believe she doesn't want the responsibility. I guess she would quit paying for any extras that the kids do such as sports or taking them shopping. That beats me having to talk to her and asking her to split things.<P>I'll probably end up doing it the hard way though.<P>Also I don't know if I would call OSU and Akron a clash. What's the spread, 50 points?<P>As soon as I start getting somework for Columbus we can arrange something. I usually travel back home as its just over a 100 miles so maybe we can get together for lunch.<P>Bob

As far as I know here in the Ann Arbor, MI area, it's like RWD said. Child support is what is agreed to and you have to petition to get more later if you know the x's wages have gone up. In my case, it's a given that he'll be making tons more of money, so I know where I'll be next year (standing in front of friend of the court again). I have been told by some other friends of mine that they've been warned by Friend of Court that to petition is not an automatic raise, that it may actually get lowered. They were told to be careful. I don't exactly know how that can happen - in my case, I wonder if it would change when I go out to work again.<P>It seems to me that it would make more sense to make it so that it was an automatic percentage thing rather than an agreed to number. I would imagine it's coming to that anyway.<P>Well, son's last baseball game tonight - gotta go.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RWD:<BR><B>Theo,<P>I'm afraid x will get p****d and could go for custody. I kind of doubt she would do that other than to get back at me as I truly believe she doesn't want the responsibility. I guess she would quit paying for any extras that the kids do such as sports or taking them shopping. That beats me having to talk to her and asking her to split things.<P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P> That's why I took on full responsibility of shopping for the kids' clothes and paying for sports, karate, medical, etc., so I wouldn't have to ask her to split the cost with me. More of a pain that way, I think.<P> It certainly would make more sense to go to a percentage based quotient; maybe that's what the state mandated takeover is trying to accomplish (hopefully). I'm going to check into this further...<P>thanks!<P>theo<P><BR>

My ex complains quite a bit about the money, but thank goodness, for these formulas, makes it all so cut and dried.<P>My ex's salary has gone up quite a bit, but I haven't gone for more. I figure the expense and hard feelings just wouldn't be worth it -things are OK for me, I'm frugal. <P>But I know things will change dramatically if either one of us remarries. I would definitely go for more, and if I remarry, I am positive he will petition for a reduction. Here, the income of a spouse has a bearing on the child support. Doesn't it affect it there? Maybe you are better off waiting until they marry the OP?<P>Good luck, this is probably the ugliest part of the process, at least for me. It is always more expensive for the custodial parent, but I certainly wouldn't trade for the world.<P><BR>

Honey West, the lawyers (mine and hers) explained to me that the OP's salary (even if she marries him) has no bearing on child support. Go figure...<P>theo<P>