Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Review of Income

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Review of Income

    My ex and I have not reviewed our income levels since we separated in 2014. We have a 50/50 custody agreement. In our agreement our income levels are essentially equal and we currently do not have offsetting child support. However, he has indicated that his income may be dropping in 2017 and he is already commenting how a review would happen in July 2017 as per our agreement. I have strongly suspected that his income was higher than mine due to his self-employment but I wasn't overly worried about it as the conflict it would have caused for $50-100 of offset child support just wasn't worth it. However, now that he is starting to insinuate I may have to pay him offset child support, I think I should request an evaluation now when I can possibly establish his income as the same or more as the separation agreement. And we can then reassess in July 2017.

    I am thinking of sending him an email suggesting we swap information by xxx date. He has two sources of income: employment and self-employment. What information should or can I request? His self-employment is a one-man show and is all done through his personal bank accounts. Can I request bank/credit card statements at this point? I know he does not claim all his income and that is one of the reasons I never really went down this road. It was a battle I did not want to have.

    If he does not provide the information by the date, I think I then can request it via the courts? We have avoided lawyers and the courts up to this point and I really hope to keep it that way. However, the situation is spiraling down quickly as he is now threatening to not provide a travel consent letter allowing me to take the kids on planned holidays etc.

  • #2
    Originally posted by Sharedcustodymomof3 View Post
    However, he has indicated that his income may be dropping in 2017 and he is already commenting how a review would happen in July 2017 as per our agreement.
    He will have to justify the drop in income. Courts only expect income levels to go up and not down. More than likely the court will fix his income at the previous level and expect it to increase by 1.5% to 3% per year. You can't simply drop your income to get child support. Especially if your agreement that was issued FINAL has fixed stated incomes.

    Self-employed don't get away with dropping their income in family court.

    Originally posted by Sharedcustodymomof3 View Post
    I have strongly suspected that his income was higher than mine due to his self-employment but I wasn't overly worried about it as the conflict it would have caused for $50-100 of offset child support just wasn't worth it.
    Smart move!

    Originally posted by Sharedcustodymomof3 View Post
    However, now that he is starting to insinuate I may have to pay him offset child support, I think I should request an evaluation now when I can possibly establish his income as the same or more as the separation agreement.
    Your agreement should have a clause that full financial information is disclosed every year in June. The FCSG (federal child support guidelines) which are a LAW require it. So, you can request them either way (if ordered or not).

    See this thread:

    http://www.ottawadivorce.com/forum/f...nancial-17239/

    I am thinking of sending him an email suggesting we swap information by xxx date. He has two sources of income: employment and self-employment. What information should or can I request? His self-employment is a one-man show and is all done through his personal bank accounts. Can I request bank/credit card statements at this point? I know he does not claim all his income and that is one of the reasons I never really went down this road. It was a battle I did not want to have.
    See the thread provided above.

    The only way you can force the disclosure is through a motion to change child support. (15C I think.) For FRO or anyone to enforce any CS they need an order. So he will have to either get an agreement from you or an order from the court.

    I would recommend a lawyer to help you to make sure the financial disclosures are sufficient to determine proper income to determine child support. If he isn't willing to give it up... Let the matter rot until he brings a motion or you do. (15C)

    It is strictly a technical motion for determining CS. So nothing funny about custody and access can come up.

    Originally posted by Sharedcustodymomof3 View Post
    If he does not provide the information by the date, I think I then can request it via the courts?
    My recommendation would be to retain a lawyer and have them prepare a Form 20 and covering letter for the disclosure. Form 20 states that after 30 days you will bring the matter to court to get the disclosure and attach the Form 20 to your 15C.

    Originally posted by Sharedcustodymomof3 View Post
    We have avoided lawyers and the courts up to this point and I really hope to keep it that way. However, the situation is spiraling down quickly as he is now threatening to not provide a travel consent letter allowing me to take the kids on planned holidays etc.
    That is a different issue and you would have to make an application and bring a motion to resolve. You would be VERY successful on a matter like that and he would have to pay costs. Expecially if you make an offer to settle the matter prior to bringing the motion. Note a motion can take a while so if you need the consent letters you need to get the ball rolling.

    You should have a clause in your agreement that consents are not required for travel. Especially if you have 50-50 and the other party is not a citizen of another country that is not a signator to the hauge convention.

    Good Luck!
    Tayken

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks Tayken, your link was exactly what I was looking for. I did try to search for it but there is an abundant of information on this forum to go through. I will use your link to formulate a letter and see where it goes.

      His self employment income may drop in 2017 due to the fact his truck was repossessed for non-payment. He is temporarily (at least) unable to earn his side income so I think that is where he is heading with his insinuations.

      I should mention while we do not have offsetting support we do have extensive details in our S7 to cover our childrens extra curricular activites. They were well involved in these activities before our separation and continue to be involved. This has always been a source of conflict as he has a tendency to not pay his bills (ie repo of his vehicle and recent eviction from what was once our family home). After almost two year of continuous non-payment issues I filed with FRO which eventually resulted in his regular employment being garnished.

      As you can imagine co-parenting has been very difficult and we do have a high conflict relationship at times. This is one of the reasons I have never wanted to go down this road but I am starting to feel that it is a necessary move to ensure that I am treated fairly in the future.

      Comment


      • #4
        I don't know much about this but is his regular employment full time? I am wondering if he can be forced to work more than full time employment? I would think if he was quitting his actual job to become self employed that wouldn't fly but if he is shutting down a business because he doesn't have the means (no work truck) can he be forced to keep up that income level? That would be interesting to know.

        Has your agreement ever been filed with the court?


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

        Comment


        • #5
          Yes, his regular work is full-time. I would kind of agree with you Berner_Faith. I can't see them making him work more than full-time however it is what he has chosen since we separated. So I don't know if they would impute his income or not.

          Comment


          • #6
            Tayken, this will be very helpful to me in the future as well. Thanks again

            Comment

            Our Divorce Forums
            Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
            Working...
            X