Q: What should you do when you know that your ex has lied/omitted financial information on a child support affidavit ?
listing base salary only,saying TBD on retirement,not listing court ordered life insurance,not listing stocks and invested interest in business,not listing bonuses,minimizing amount in savings/checking-he owes me 91% of uninsured medical for our oldest son and we are reviewing original amount on january 2
A:
Hi there.
The only financial information on the child support affidavit that always matters is gross income. The definition of gross income is a hotly litigated issue in a lot of child support cases. The relevant statute can be found here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/19-A/title19-Asec2001.html (subsection 5)
Other financial information can also come into play in a child support case because Maine law allows for a deviation from guideline child support based on the financial circumstances of the parties generally. So, if one party has a lot of money in the bank, or has valuable property and so forth, that information can influence the amount of support ordered.
The problem that I am guessing you are facing is that your ex doesn't have to agree to any of this. If he doesn't agree, then you have one of two options: You can suck it up and just deal with what he is willing to give you, or you can take him to court. If you go to court, you (or your lawyer) can press him on financial information through a process called Discovery. Based on your question, it sounds quite possible that a judge will order him to pay more than he is otherwise willing to pay by agreement.
You should absolutely contact a lawyer and see how much better you can do if you assert your rights. There is no reason to just "take it" when your children's father wants to stiff you for child support.
Best of luck to you.
- Joe
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