Adjourn due to possible incarceration?

[sahibjee]

That seems very clear to me; the question is: will the judge see it crystal clear too?

Quick background: under the income threshold for CS since 2008; had a poor payment record prior to 2008 when he was required to pay CS; claimed medically unfit to work earlier this year, but reneged on that position when he was directed to produce a medical expert opinion; busted for selling drugs in May; now using "possible incarceration" to adjourn the final court hearing; and may be claiming undue hardship, but his lawyer isn't sure because she has trouble reaching him. Also took 11 months and 5 court orders for him to disclose income tax returns.

he was selling drugs and dosnt have cash stacked up? thats one clear case of trying to avoid paying CS.

it would be news worthy funny if he reported the income from the drug trade on his income tax return ..lol ...

the GF's lawyer should argue that ... "Your honor in addition to the income stated on the income tax return, we want income imputed based on the defendant's drug business; an income of xxxxxxx.xx would be reasonable"

[Teenwolf]

he was selling drugs and dosnt have cash stacked up? thats one clear case of trying to avoid paying CS.

There's a catch-22 with this scenario. I have no doubt that he was selling drugs and earning cash income, which enabled him to remain under the income threshold for CS, but he hasn't been found guilty yet.

The argument this Friday will be to deny a motion to adjourn because the motion is based on speculation. I don't believe it's a good idea to state this in one sentence, and accuse him of selling drugs in the next sentence.

[Teenwolf]

Update on the topic. Received an undue hardship claim from him a few hours ago. It went something like this:

What is your current income? Nil.

What is the income of others in your household that you economically benefit from? Nil (Living with parents, but only temporarily).

Of course, he's now asking for my income disclosure. Will the judge order this without income disclosure from his household?

[blinkandimgone]

Hmmm, I would recommend doing a search here for undue hardship, but I believe that as you are the recipient, his ability to pay has nothing to do with you and if he is making an undue hardship claim, the onus is on him to provide HIS household income.

[Teenwolf]

Hmmm, I would recommend doing a search here for undue hardship, but I believe that as you are the recipient, his ability to pay has nothing to do with you and if he is making an undue hardship claim, the onus is on him to provide HIS household income.

I agree, and I understand how undue hardship works; however, the judge would have to compare the standard of living (income) in each household as part of the undue hardship analysis.

My take on this right now: he hasn't disclosed any income from his household (reported it as "nil"), so I won't be eager to submit my income disclosure. If the judge accepts his household income as zero, then my household has a better standard of living based on the GF's income alone (which has already been submitted to the court). It wouldn't be hard to exceed the standard of living in a household with nil income; we would only need to make one cent.

[Teenwolf]

So the 15 min conference happened earlier today and it wasn't adjourned; however, the judge seemed to be somewhat sympathetic to his position. The judge told the GF that she morally agreed with the GF's position, but she wasn't seeing much proof. The judge emphasized how it was required to prove that jobs were available to him, and showing numerous min wage job ads wasn't proof. If that isn't sufficient, then how in the world can you prove that min wage jobs existed? Until now, I didn't think it would be difficult to prove that min wage jobs exist.

It also appears that he can use the criminal charges as a reason to be restricted in finding work, which will go against imputing income; however, the GF can not mention the criminal charges in any way to associate it with his intentional underemployment. Things are not looking promising for the hearing.

[Teenwolf]

Here's the latest response from his lawyer...

I am in receipt of your brief. However, I have not received disclosure of your household income, as required by the Courts. I note you suggest my client has not disclosed his household income. He is presently residing with his mother temporarily; she is not a partner in the sense that they share expenses or are intending to remain together as a household unit. In contrast, I understand that you are in a relationship. Kindly provide proof of your spouse’s gross monthly income.

Is this how it works? I read the Act for the definition of "household", and it included:

(b) any person who shares living expenses with the parent or from whom the parent otherwise receives an economic benefit as a result of living with that person, if the court considers it reasonable for that person to be considered part of the household

No mention of the word "partner", "relationship" or "temporary" as eluded to by the lawyer. The Court did not consider whether it's reasonable for me or his mother to be considered part of the parties household; the Court has never directed me to disclose my income.

Any thoughts on how to proceed?