Q: Ex-husband paid a $35k bill for me 7 years ago. He is now asking for it back.
We have been divorced for over 10years and when we settled out of court the deal was that he would make sure I always lived in the same area as when we were married so our daughter could continue going to the same schools. I lost my job and fell behind on my house payments the bill totaled $28-35K . He paid it, during these past 10 years we have been back to court over a dozen times and the last time we went to court on a motion that he filed I was granted more child support. He has never asked for this money until now. He hasn't filed a motion. What are my rights?
A: It sounds like he honored his support obligation to you under the terms of the agreement but because you fell behind on payments for your mortgage over the past several years, he voluntarily assisted you in payments over and above his support obligation under the terms of your agreement and while voluntarily helping you out with payments for your house ( so that you did not lose it), he was taken back to court ( by you or by the probation department) for an increase in child support and now he is angry at you, feeling that you should not have sought the increase given his voluntary actions. I dont know if that is true or not but unless the agreement expressly stated that he was legally obligated to pay your mortgage, his actions were voluntary above what he was legally obligated to do. It may make sense for you to meet with a family law specialist to discuss the current status of your setting and his support obligation and figure out how to move forward with him on a more constructive path or you dont and presumably, he remains angry at you. I dont know what financial obligations remain outstanding, but if there are obligations anticipated, it may make sense to try and plot a solution that you and he can live with.
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