Hi,
My ex wife and I have been going through the legal process since Sept. 2010. To make a long story short she tried to use false claims of alcoholism, child abuse, etc etc. to gain sole custody of the children.
We have had 50/50 access and joint custody on an interim order for a year and a half now. I currently pay her offset child support, I make around 80K/yr and she makes about 54k/yr. The last motion she filed was
to seek a change to sole custody and a 70/30 access schedule. She was not granted the request and access and custody stayed the same.
The only outstanding financial items are a joint debt of $7,000 (I have been the only one paying it for 2 years) and a pension equalization (my pension). For a time during our seperation, my wife lied to police to have me arrested (no charges were laid) and when I came back to the house the locks were changed and the boyfriend was living there. I moved in with family and hired my lawyer. For almost a year I was paying all of the mortgage and loans with no help from her. At the settlement conference I showed the judge the amount of money I was out and he suggested that if we went to trial I would get credit that money.
My lawyer and I have tabled an offer to settle with a reduced pension amount going to my ex and it was refused. We are about $10,000 apart of the amount of my pension that should be roled over to her. I have also offered to pay off the full amount of joint debt. My ex and her lawyer keep refusing and now we are on the trial list, possibly to be scheduled for trial in late April.
My lawyer has been great to this point but recently I have been bugging him to get this settled before it got to this point and I think he has been overwhelmed with other clients etc, still no excuse. Now he is asking for a $10,000 retainer by next month to prepare for trial. There is no way I can pay him and will have to go self-represented. I honestly don't see how my ex can afford a trial either. If we do go to trial I know that my ex will again be seeking full custody and limited access to me.
Sould I be worried? It seems that no matter what I offer, it is always turned down.
Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.
My ex wife and I have been going through the legal process since Sept. 2010. To make a long story short she tried to use false claims of alcoholism, child abuse, etc etc. to gain sole custody of the children.
We have had 50/50 access and joint custody on an interim order for a year and a half now. I currently pay her offset child support, I make around 80K/yr and she makes about 54k/yr. The last motion she filed was
to seek a change to sole custody and a 70/30 access schedule. She was not granted the request and access and custody stayed the same.
The only outstanding financial items are a joint debt of $7,000 (I have been the only one paying it for 2 years) and a pension equalization (my pension). For a time during our seperation, my wife lied to police to have me arrested (no charges were laid) and when I came back to the house the locks were changed and the boyfriend was living there. I moved in with family and hired my lawyer. For almost a year I was paying all of the mortgage and loans with no help from her. At the settlement conference I showed the judge the amount of money I was out and he suggested that if we went to trial I would get credit that money.
My lawyer and I have tabled an offer to settle with a reduced pension amount going to my ex and it was refused. We are about $10,000 apart of the amount of my pension that should be roled over to her. I have also offered to pay off the full amount of joint debt. My ex and her lawyer keep refusing and now we are on the trial list, possibly to be scheduled for trial in late April.
My lawyer has been great to this point but recently I have been bugging him to get this settled before it got to this point and I think he has been overwhelmed with other clients etc, still no excuse. Now he is asking for a $10,000 retainer by next month to prepare for trial. There is no way I can pay him and will have to go self-represented. I honestly don't see how my ex can afford a trial either. If we do go to trial I know that my ex will again be seeking full custody and limited access to me.
Sould I be worried? It seems that no matter what I offer, it is always turned down.
Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.
Comment