My common-law partner of 6 years and I split up last July. There was no overt problem between us, we just fell out of love...Our kids (boy 14, girl 11) more or less chose to stay with me in our rented home after their mother left. Despite the fact that she obtained a subsidized housing arrangement and makes about the same money I do, she never paid me anything for support but did agree to let me apply to have the Child Tax Benefit put in my name... In January of this year I had a stroke and the kids more or less moved in with her while I was recuperating. My son has for the most part moved back here with me (he stays at his mom's a few nights a week) but my daughter has taken to sleeping most nights at her mom's (she stays here about 2 nights a week), even though she comes over to the house every day after school with her brother, quite often until eight or nine at night.
I didn't start receiving a pension at my job until 2004 and my ex now claims that she's entitled to half of what it was when we split. Is she? Would she have a hard time obtaining it? Would it be worth her while from a financial point of view? (As of July 2008, when we split, it was about $20,000). Would I have to get a lawyer to defend against it? Or should I simply just give it up? After all, it's not that much money when it comes down to it... Here's a few other details, perhaps relevant, perhaps not:
She refused to help pay for our son's braces ($4600) saying I 'made the decision to get them.' I put them on my line of credit.
As mentioned above, she paid me no support while I had virtually sole custody over them from August 2008 until December 2008.
We each had full-time jobs and separate bank accounts, no joint account ever.
In August 2006 she made a unilateral decision to go back to school part-time, despite my legitimate protestations that we couldn't afford it.
I paid all the rent after she started going to school part-time.
Despite only working part-time after this she was somehow able to afford being registered for a martial art all the time we were together.
I paid for the kids' vacations for all the time we were together.
I paid for most Christmas and birthday gifts all of the time we were together.
A lot of these latter purchases went on my line of credit.
Besides the pension issue, if I decide to purchase a home this year, can she make some kind of claim on it, place a lien against it, etc?
Finally, do I have any real claim on where my soon-to-be 12-year-old daughter resides? If not, should we each file a child tax benefit claim?
I realize compared to a lot of people I have it pretty good, but my stroke has made things that much more difficult. I feel I've lost my daughter in the process. Case in point: her mother this past weekend had her in the hospital with a possible fainting spell, registered her in only half of her name (leaving mine out) and didn't even contact me to tell me she was there. I had to find out through my son. And she's lately been referring to her place when she talks to my daughter as 'your place.' Not nice, not approriate, not true, and not fair to my daughter. It sucks, frankly.
Thanks for any help or advice you can offer.
Brian.
I didn't start receiving a pension at my job until 2004 and my ex now claims that she's entitled to half of what it was when we split. Is she? Would she have a hard time obtaining it? Would it be worth her while from a financial point of view? (As of July 2008, when we split, it was about $20,000). Would I have to get a lawyer to defend against it? Or should I simply just give it up? After all, it's not that much money when it comes down to it... Here's a few other details, perhaps relevant, perhaps not:
She refused to help pay for our son's braces ($4600) saying I 'made the decision to get them.' I put them on my line of credit.
As mentioned above, she paid me no support while I had virtually sole custody over them from August 2008 until December 2008.
We each had full-time jobs and separate bank accounts, no joint account ever.
In August 2006 she made a unilateral decision to go back to school part-time, despite my legitimate protestations that we couldn't afford it.
I paid all the rent after she started going to school part-time.
Despite only working part-time after this she was somehow able to afford being registered for a martial art all the time we were together.
I paid for the kids' vacations for all the time we were together.
I paid for most Christmas and birthday gifts all of the time we were together.
A lot of these latter purchases went on my line of credit.
Besides the pension issue, if I decide to purchase a home this year, can she make some kind of claim on it, place a lien against it, etc?
Finally, do I have any real claim on where my soon-to-be 12-year-old daughter resides? If not, should we each file a child tax benefit claim?
I realize compared to a lot of people I have it pretty good, but my stroke has made things that much more difficult. I feel I've lost my daughter in the process. Case in point: her mother this past weekend had her in the hospital with a possible fainting spell, registered her in only half of her name (leaving mine out) and didn't even contact me to tell me she was there. I had to find out through my son. And she's lately been referring to her place when she talks to my daughter as 'your place.' Not nice, not approriate, not true, and not fair to my daughter. It sucks, frankly.
Thanks for any help or advice you can offer.
Brian.
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