Spousal support and extraordinary work hours

[Wllmdarcy]

I am recently separated. I am fortunate enough to have a fairly high income but I work 80 to 90 hrs a week to earn it. I pay child support and spousal support either of which would be enough for my spouse to live comfortably on and she spends all of it. I honestly don't believe she is capable of saving.
I don't begrudge her a comfortable lifestyle but it seems ridiculous, given that she would be comfortable no matter how this decided, that I have to split my income with her no matter how much I work. I would like to be able to put the income I earn aside for my kids and not see it wasted.
Our settlement entitles me to change jobs as long as I do not work less than 40 hrs a week and I may well do this despite the fact that I love my job because I cannot find the energy to drag myself into work in the middle of the night knowing that it will just go to pay for her fifth trip of the year.
A settlement based on 40 hrs a week would still give her a very comfortable income. Do the courts never consider hard work and initiative. My wife's lawyer seems to be encouraging her to not try to develop any sort of ability to support herself hence it decrease her payments which he then sucks out of her like a lamprey.

[Rioe]

Didn't we tell you a year ago to stop working the long hours and invest your time into being a dad to your kids?

I would drop down to your 40 hours, use the extra time to relax with your children, and let the ex worry about her money herself. I hope you built an end date to spousal support into your agreement.

Money comes and goes, but your time with your children as they grow is gone forever.

[firhill]

I pay child support and spousal support either of which would be enough for my spouse to live comfortably on and she spends all of it.
.................... which he then sucks out of her like a lamprey.

Hehe...a lamprey. Gets my vote for funny comment of the day.

Sucks that the more you work, the more she gets. That is unfair, but dem's the rules, I guess.

Can't you just cut your hours at present job back to a normal 40hr work week?

BTW....Just remember she uses the child support mentioned above on the child, not herself.

Never could figure out why, if the purpose of CS is to help the child maintain a lifestyle similar to what it was in the family unit, the child all of sudden needs twice as much $$$ for support because the payor decides to put in twice as many hours.

[arabian]

I understand your situation, however, I have some questions.

Are you self-employed? The 80 - 90 hrs a week you put in are hard labor or are you sleeping part time on the job (fireman, long distance trucker, for example)?

If you are an employee and are simply putting in tons of overtime it would be unrealistic for anyone to expect you to continue your current level of work, particularly if you were to get a physical examination and a doctor or psychiatrist stated that you were suffering from burn-out.

I think you should provide some clarification. Do you have to work these hours or is it optional for you? Self employed?

[Wllmdarcy]

It's not optional. I am a rural physician and our practice model requires us to provide 24/7 emergency coverage. I could work less but that would entail moving to a different town and leaving this one in an untenable situation as the remaining docs could not provide sufficient services. The sad thing is is that I have been able to work with my wife to allow me to spend regular and quality time with my kids even with the hours.
However at times I work much much more due to emergencies , staff shortages ct. . It just burns me that I even this money has to be split and wasted and that her lawyer can try to use that to set my ongoing payments. It's just sad that the system should discourage people from working hard and doing their best.

[arabian]

I think it would be prudent to consult with your accountant. If you have a professional corporation established you might have some angles to explore. I understand how billing works for physicians (private practice, etc.) and some physicians find it beneficial to form a "surgical corporation" with colleagues. You then draw a salary from the corporation. Even if you have one colleague who would be willing to entertain this idea it might be worth looking at. You bill with your practice id but the money goes into the corporation rather than your own account. In other words you are then an employee of the corporation.

[firhill]

It's not optional. I am a rural physician and our practice model requires us to provide 24/7 emergency coverage.

Are a lot of the hours you put in, over and above your "basic" work week?

If so, could those hours be treated as overtime, and then be requested to be used as compensatory time in lieu of being paid at your regular rate?

I understand you would still have the issue of when to use the comp. time, having such a busy schedule, but at least it doesn't show up on your T4 as income.