Someone Tell me this is Bull S@$T

[Cobourg]

Here is my issue.
During a Conference in June, the judge laid out the "path to trial".
We only have "money & property" issues to deal with at trial. Access and Custody has been done.
Here is what was noted in the Endorsement.

1. If by August 15th, 2010 the parties can't come to a mediated solution, the following timelines will be observed.
2. By Sept 7th, 2010 the Applicant (her) will file her Affidavit and all corresponding material for trial.
3. By Sept 30th, the Respondent (me) will file his Affidavit, his Affidavit of Response, and all corresponding material for Trial.
4. By Oct 12th, the Applicant will file her Affidavit of Respose and material.
5. Oct 19th - Trial Managment Conference
6. Nov 15th - Trial sittings begin.
7. For the parties Affidavits, the judge laid out a "template" that he wanted followed. Issue, position on issue, facts, law supporting position etc etc.

Here are my issues.

1. She filed her Affidavit on Sept 7 as required, but with no Form 13.1 or 13B, no proof of income. (she was just recently offered a full time position with the company she has had a part time job with for over a year)
2. Her format was no where close to what the judge requested.
3. No Trial Management Brief (I think that she really has up to 7 days before the Conference to file that?)
4. I have completed my 2 documents and plan to file and serve tomorrow, even though there is not much to "respond" to.
5. Last night, Sept 28th at 8:30 pm, she hands me a two inch thick file with "additional disclosure material" that has been filed with the court as a suplimentary Affidavit
6. She has also now filed at Form 13.1 with, as far as I can tell, a lot "mistakes" and omissions.

My documents are finished. I can't go through this mess of stuff and put together a complete and reasonable response to this new "stuff" by the time I have to file tomorrow.

Is this Bull S#@T?
What can I do about it?
What should I do about it?

I am just so pissed off with the continued attempts to manipulate and circumvent a process that is already frought with issues.

[dadtotheend]

Prepare your materials as scheduled.

Go through the financial statement and identify the mistakes so that you can present evidence at trial. If the financial statement is laden with errors, you will have your opportunity to challenge it at trial. If you present clear, relevant and concise evidence that the financial statements are wrong, that puts you at a significant advantage.

Don't let you emotional reaction to the submission govern your conduct. You should welcome the opportunity to to discredit the information.

[rwm1273]

You may be able to bring a motion for contempt for her not providing her financial disclosure.

This was one of the 3 times I was able to get my ex found in contempt. She failed to provide her financial disclosure during the run up to the trial, and we had to go to court 3 times for this. But I never did get full disclosure, and other than her being fined $250, she was not really punished.

[Cobourg]

Thanks for the reality check Dad.
I guess you just get to close to your own stuff and can't get past the emotions and anger.

Appreciate the slap upside the head.

[tugofwar]

[*]By Oct 12th, the Applicant will file her Affidavit of Respose and material.[*]Oct 19th - Trial Managment Conference

So, Cobourg, what has happened since?

[Roni]

Your lawyer can ask for a financial disclousure order, if she fails to respond, your lawyer can attribute income to her and a decision will be made based on that.

[Cobourg]

Tug,
I filed my documents on time and was even able to modify and include some information with respect to what she supplied so late.
I requested an opportunity to provide a more complete responce should the Court allow this information to be included in the trial documents.

She filed her responce Affidavit on time.

For the most part the document was one long "bitch" at me, commenting on how I have prolonged the process, not given her everything she has wanted, and I how I am a mean and horrible person.....the usual emotional, non fact based document that I am used to seeing.

She seems to have changed her approach with respect to having income imputed to me. She is now suggesting that I am not declaring enough by way of a taxable expense for my company vehicle. This is new for this affidavit. I used to be that I should simply be earning more money because the day has 24 hours in it and I am only using 12 of those each day for my current job.

The best way I can describe this document and most of the previous submissions would be to say that she is trying to take the Court's attention from the main issues and get them to look at and consider silly smaller things. Kind of a "don't look at that elephant in the corner, look at the mouse I have in my hand. It is much more important"....know what I mean?

Anyway, Trial Management this Tuesday. At that time I guess we will find out who's approach to the creation, lay out and documentation of our respective filings was correct, because they could not have been more different in their content and style.

I will keep you informed.

[tugofwar]

I will keep you informed.

AND..... what happened?

[Cobourg]

Tug,
We get to court about 9:30, and about 2:00pm the clerk comes out and hands me and the ex about 7 or 8 pages and she says the judge wants us to fill them out for him.
I look at them and they are the Trial Managment Brief documents that are already in the Continueing Record.

I point that out to the clerk and she shrugs and says the she is just doing what the judge asked her to do.
So I fill out the same forms again.

• What are the issues
• Are there any witnesses
• Etc Etc

Give it back to the clerk and the we get called in just before 3

Sit down in front of the judge and he starts right in with the issues.....Equalization...how far apart are you sir.
I say I owe her about $13K in equalization, but she owes me $35K from the equity in the house. So she owes me $22 which I will agree to walk away from today in lieu of Spousal Support.
Judge nods and seems to like that.

Turns to her and asks the same question. She starts off on a tangent and he has to put up his hand and says "just give me a dollar amount of how far apart you are on equalization"....she says $200K. Not sure what planet she is on anymore.

He takes off his glasses and looks from her to me and then just says sit down please and starts writting.

He spends 10 minutes writting and then reads the issues that he has put down for the trial judge.
Asks us if that is correct.

She stands up and wants to add Occupation Rent to the issues.

Judge says that although our trial is scheduled for the Nov sittings (Nov 15) it might not be heard until the May sittings because we have no child related issues to be heard...only financial.

He tells her no that Occupation Rent can't be added if it is heard in Nov.
I start to bring up the late addition of information etc and he tells me to sit down and bring it up with the trial judge.

She has now added two witnesses that have not been questioned or provided affidavit material. He also leaves that for the trial judge to decide on.

I am paying a huge amount of Spousal Support right now and really want the trial to go ahead. I ask permission to bring a motion on SS if the trial is not heard in Nov.
Judge says yes but for me not to expect any changes due to a possible May sitting.


So what happened......absolutely nothing.

Another wasted day in the Family Law world.

[dadtotheend]

Where does she get $200K from? Fantasy land?

Have you made a resonable offer to settle?

[Cobourg]

I really don't know.
I offered to purchase the house in July 2009 for list price less real estate fees ($285K). Take on all the joint debt (about $40K) and give her another $45K on top of that.

The house sold in March for $285K. Then the real estate stuff came off and everything else.

Nothing left to fight over.
Dumb.

Lots of offers. Different scenarios, different options, different ways of looking it.
There is nothing left. The equity in the house has gone to pay her bills because of the liens on the house.

[dadtotheend]

The leins only apply to her interest in the home. They can't take your equity to pay her bills. I hope you know that, otherwise you may have been operating under some very significantly false assumptions!

[Cobourg]

Dad,
I agree with you.

Luckily for me Young v. Young, First Trust v. McDonough and Bank of Montreal v. Bray all agree with us too.

The problem is the house deal would not have closed if I had not released the funds, which would have caused greater financial and legal issues.

Prior to the house closing I got a motions judge to grant me the right to claim that my half of the equity should be considered an "advance on equalization".

That is why I suggest that the money I would "owe" her should be offset against that which she owes me.

The other major issue is one of the credit cards that caused her issue was for her business. She want's to include it within the NFP. In my offers I have allowed it to be included to be "fair". At trial I am fighting to have it excluded.

Like most people here on the site, it is just another persons interpretation of their particular situation based on their own perception.
Does not mean much unless the judge agrees with you.