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  • Should I Fire My Lawyer

    Hi.

    I need advice on whether I should fire my lawyer. I'm in a dispute with my ex about child support. I take care of my son virtually 50% of the time. In fact, the exact calculation in terms of time is about 46% of the time. My ex is desperately trying to impose the table amount anyway, and she is claiming that even when he is at daycare and school, it counts as her time.

    I went to a lawyer, and at the start, he told me that I have a good case. After many months of negotiation back and forth, he is now telling me that the courts could see it either way because the law if foggy on time accounting. The issue about time accounting has never been properly figured out... so he states.

    The questions are: should daycare and school count as her time and when? If I pick him up from daycare and drop him off the next day there, should that day count as mine or hers? Or, does it really matter; does it only count when we are actually with him?

    Another thing that my lawyer just wrote to me was the following:

    "As for the law, (and I agree with her lawyer) that just because you may have more time with your child, and even if they agree that it now means you have your child more than 40 % of the time, that does not automatically mean that your support is necessarily to be calculated any differently by offsetting your incomes, although it could be."

    What the hell does that mean? Is he telling me that the table amount can still apply?

    Can anyone tell me what I should be doing?

    Thanks!! I appreciate your help!

  • #2
    Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
    Hi.
    "As for the law, (and I agree with her lawyer) that just because you may have more time with your child, and even if they agree that it now means you have your child more than 40 % of the time, that does not automatically mean that your support is necessarily to be calculated any differently by offsetting your incomes, although it could be."

    What the hell does that mean? Is he telling me that the table amount can still apply?

    Can anyone tell me what I should be doing?

    Thanks!! I appreciate your help!
    It sounds to me like he's basically folding under the pressure to support your position and avoid any confrontation in court. I think there should be a re-evaluation of the table amount in light of the fact that you have the child more than the 40% threshold. Your lawyer seems to not understand that the associated costs for you increase with the increased access amount just as it would if it was the other way around. You can bet that if the tables were turned she would be claiming the same thing.

    In my opinion, any time that you drop the child off at day care and pick him up this is to be considered your time as that is how they would certainly calculate it if it was her dropping him off, going to work, and then picking him up.

    However, if you drop him off and she picks him up then I would say the time is 50/50 or negated all together.
    The law states;
    Shared custody

    9. Where a spouse exercises a right of access to, or has physical custody of, a child for not less than 40 per cent of the time over the course of a year, the amount of the child support order must be determined by taking into account

    (a) the amounts set out in the applicable tables for each of the spouses;
    (b) the increased costs of shared custody arrangements; and
    (c) the conditions, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse and of any child for whom support is sought.


    An example case would be;

    Contino v. Leonellie-Contino, [2005] S.C.C. 63 states that the starting point is the set off amount set out in the applicable tables for each spouse. In this case the husband has an annual income of approximately $65,000 making his child support payable $550; and the wife has a guideline income of $99,725 for a Guideline amount of child support payable of $810 a month. Without taking into account the other factors stated in Section 9 above, the wife would be paying the husband the net difference between the two Guideline amounts, which amount is $255 per month.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thank you FL! I know that you're knowledgeable about this stuff, so your opinion means a lot to me.

      The thing is, we have a very strange way of sharing my son. On Tuesdays when I have him over night, she drops him off that day (Tuesday), and I pick him up that night from daycare. Then, the next day (Wednesday), I drop him off at day care and she picks him up that night. On Thursday, she drops him off at daycare, and I pick him up that night from daycare. Every other weekend, I pick him up on Friday night, and I have him until Monday morning, where I drop him off at daycare again.

      You see, it's a very special case. Her lawyer is arguing that all of the daycare time and school time is hers. That's the problem. It's all about the time accounting.

      If you calculate when my son is in each of our "physical custody", the time is about 53.5% / 46.5%. BUT... if daycare and school is counted as her time, then it balloons her time to almost 68% of the time. I just don't think it's fair.

      The amount of money that I spend is just as much as hers. I have to make lunches, buy him books, school supplies, a bed and a room to sleep in, etc. It's overwhelming that she expects me to pay the table amount plus extras on top of all that.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hello Beaudoin!

        I believe FB is right. I think you should find another lawyer. We had to fire and hire 3 lawyers before our fourth one finally went to court with us and got matters resolved. Not being knowledgeable in family law back then, we spent waaaaay too much time with each of the 3 idiotic lawyers. Now I know that if your lawyer is not willing to work for YOU (after all, you're the one paying him!) then get a new one!

        Your schedule sounds very similar to what my fiance and I exercised when my stepson was a baby/toddler. The mother would drop him off at daycare on Monday, we'd pick him up and drop him of Tuesday, then she'd pick him up and drop him off Wednesday, and so forth. And the way we calculated it was by splitting the daycare time in half. My fiance also had custody of his son around 46% of the time. Unfortunately, we hadn't gone to court yet, and we were unknowledgeable in the guidelines and table amounts, so he was simply paying what he could afford in child support at the time, as he was a full-time student.

        If your lawyer won't help you, then it's not the end of the world. You can always request a modification of child support yourself. Forms 14 and 15 (I believe) will help you do that. There is even a section you can check off that states that you are asking for an amount lower than the table amounts because the child is with you more than 40% of the time. Just remember to stick a copy of your schedule with the modification, to show how the time is split.

        Good luck!

        Comment


        • #5
          So, why does she *claim* daycare and school as *HER* time? Is her situation different than yours in such a way that you can't say the same thing?

          A parent is still "on call" in that, at a moments notice they may have to attend to an illness or accident during the night or their workday if they receive a call from school. Is there some reason you absolutely can-not get away from work, should you receive the dreaded phone call to go comfort your child in the hospital?

          Your situation doesn't seem that complicated... I have my kids Mon, Wed, and every second Fri - Sun. I rarely drop-off and pick up the kids on the same day it's usually one of us dropping off and the other picking up.

          What's her reasoning that she claims that time exclusively???

          Oh, back to the original question, I changed lawyers mid-stream because my original one left private practice and the transition was very smooth and less costly to bring the new lawyer up to date than I expected.
          Last edited by Deputy Daddy; 10-03-2008, 08:53 AM. Reason: added some info

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Deputy Daddy View Post
            A parent is still "on call" in that, at a moments notice they may have to attend to an illness or accident during the night or their workday if they receive a call from school. Is there some reason you absolutely can-not get away from work, should you receive the dreaded phone call to go comfort your child in the hospital?
            I agree with this and Maggie82's statement of splitting the day care and school time as ou are both basically on call parents during this time frame. I would say that should either of you get that god awful call, you would both attend to him in the emergency room. You wouldn't bicker over who's turn it was to pick him up. You wouldn't be deciding if she was responsible that day for pick up she is to leave work to attend to him? Of course not, and that is the way your lawyer should be explaining it to the courts. You are both equally "on call" for those hours he is in someone else's care, therefore that time should be equally split, then calculate the physical time ach has the child.

            The fact that you are more responsible for the lunches and extra expenses should also be clearly indicated as this demonstrates the higher costs of parenting on your part relative to hers. These are all important issues that a lawyer MUST address and include.

            Comment


            • #7
              sorry posted this here meant to start a new thread/post

              Comment


              • #8
                Why does she claim daycare and school her time? ...the only thing that I can think of is for money. I only work and live about 6 km from his school and daycare. I moved closer to him 2 years ago for that specific reason. I didn't want to be far if he needed me, plus it's just more practical. At the time, she told me that if I moved closer, I could have him at an even 50/50 split, but now she claims she never said that. Nice.

                FL is right. I there would be no argument should an emergency arise.

                I hate this. I wish it didn't have to be this way.

                The sad part is that every single family in this country who has children is vulnerable to this problem. No body is safe, no matter what your values are or how safe and stable your life may seem.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Beaudoin View Post
                  Hi.

                  I need advice on whether I should fire my lawyer!
                  Yes you should.

                  Comment

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