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  • Arguing equalization

    Just quick facts and looking for input. Now my situation is ass backwards bc she tried an emergency motion claiming I'm violent and dangerous to try and get me kicked out of the house. Her lawyer quickly backed off and we had a nesting order.

    The things in our equalization are mostly straight forward (cars, debt, taxes owed). Neither of us have pensions.
    The sales of mat home are held in trust minus 50k advance to each of us.

    The variables...the value of my med corp..it's been independent verified at a bit less than my guess (very small amount)

    She wanted a price on my comics . I thought it was petty and judge agreed but if she insisted she would have to value her designer purses. Like I said purses are way higher than comics.

    When the house sold and it was time to move, i asked about dividing furniture. she took everything out of the house and left me with nothing (not even clothes for the kids who I have every weekend)..so that goes against her on equalization

    So without including comics, house possessions she owes me 90 k on equalization.

    Furthermore...we had agreed to accounting of joint money's spent from the time of separation to house closing. In the first month alone she depleted all our assets writing checks to her mom and maxing out the credit cards. I was able to detail every exact purchase down to Tim Hortons and divided them by personal vs household. In the end she spent 50k on personal purchases and likely will owe me considerably on accounting.

    She continues to spend cash like crazy and if first of month falls on a weekend asks for her check to be delivered on the Friday so she doesn't have to wait till Monday. She even asked for September support to be dated on Aug 31 so she didn't have to wait until Tuesday to deposit the check (labour day). So somehow she burns through over 10k a month.


    So my question...
    She clearly owes me a lot right now. Half length of marriage is 3 years and I'm one year into separation. So on equalization..she owes me 90k exclduing purses and furniture, on accounting of joint moneis she owes me 30 to 40k. She will only be able to pay me through her proceeds of the house meaning she would get next to nothing.

    What arguments can she make that equalization would not be fair and that her being left with nothing from the house is not fair. Remember she depleted all the assets and spends excessively. Also what are alternatives to suggest for her to get funds from the house but still holding her accountable.

  • #2
    Nobody is going to hold her accountable including the judges. 90k is not a huge settlement. If she owes you money she can stall you for another 8 or 9 years just by hiring a high conflict lawyer or she can keep stalling by self repping and asking for adjournment after adjournment. If you have money from the sale of the matrimonial home sitting in trust, beware. The lawyers will start circling like vultures and make sure they get paid first out of the trust funds before you even see a dime. Who has custody of the children? Do you have 50/50? The chances of a judge allowing you to walk away with all the money in the trust and her with nothing are slim to none unless she engaged in some serious bad faith behaviour. But even then if she has custody the judge won’t allow her to walk away with nothing as it’s not in the best interests of the kids.

    Your best bet is to cut your losses, make a more than reasonable offer to settle that leaves her with something so you can put this behind you and move on with your life.

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes so thats why I'm asking alternatives. And won't hesitate to go to trial if there are stale tactics.

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      • #4
        Going to trial isn’t up to you. You don’t really have any control over the process. A judge can refuse to put you on the trial list. And even if you get on the list you can be bumped off. If you are only arguing about the money you are very low priority for the court. If you have kids you are also arguing about, you are somewhat higher priority. I have been litigating for close to 8 years now with not a single issue settled. I have spent close to 300,000 in legal fees because my ex is brain damaged and his lawyer doesn’t want to let his golden goose go. All she has to say or her lawyer has to say is they think it will be a 20 day trial and the judge won’t let you proceed ( even if it’s total bs). You have only been at this for a year. They won’t even consider putting you on the trial list until you’ve got quite a few more years of litigation under your belt. They like to drain you of all your money first.
        Family law is not about justice or holding the other party accountable. It’s about the lawyer's and other court professionals bleeding all the family resources out of both parties.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Kkc View Post
          she took everything out of the house and left me with nothing ..so that goes against her on equalization
          Possibly not as much as you think. The value of possesions is actual value, not replacement value. As in, "what could I sell this for on kijiji?".

          So, a sofa might have a replacement value of $2000, but only be worth about $100.

          So without including comics, house possessions she owes me 90 k on equalization.
          If you sold the house and neither of you has a pension, why does she owe you anything?

          She continues to spend cash like crazy
          Why does that matter to you?

          Also what are alternatives to suggest for her to get funds from the house but still holding her accountable.
          You're a doctor. Crying poor is not going to work, despite the fact that you feel like you are poor.

          You think spousal support will be brief, but you never do know. I've seen ridiculous amounts of spousal ordered for short marriages, especially when one spouse has earning potential that is drastically higher than the other spouse.

          Honestly, if I were you, I would be prepared to give a very generous equalization payment in return for a spousal support term with a clear and unconditional end date.

          I would also do this sooner rather than later. Your income is only going to increase, which makes it harder for you to escape the inevitable excessive spousal support.

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          • #6
            When equity from the sale of the home is parked in trust, beware of the circling sharks. Lawyers will eat it all believe me. Don't expect them to do what's in the children's best interests. They will line their own pockets first. Sorry to sound so skeptical and negative but I'm going through this right now and been at it for 6 years.

            Comment

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