Unemployed, what to expect

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:53:43 -0600

My childrens father has become Unemployed january 1st.

We actually started communicating even his wife and I started talking. though I feel we still have a lot of issues to work out. We are going back to court and some of the things we go back to are truely ridiculous...! passports, My family is in germany, I wanna go to visit, I am willing to pay for passports however he wants them to be at his parents house. I disagree. I feel that if I pay for them, I should have the right to have them in my household. The other thing, I am sure he is working as carpenter under the table, my 7year old said he is building stuff for other people, how can you show he gets paid? I am almost positive he uses his wifes bank account.

And what should I expect with him not having a income? I mean will my child support go down to $0? I only have a part time job, giving me 27 hours a week, how can I alone take care of 3 children? I pay $300 alone just on childCare. What are your suggestions?

Going to trial-need to prove he can work

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:55:17 -0600

Had our child support mod hearing yesterday. Told the judge he has NO income. I told the judge he has a 15 year work history, brought pay stubs that showed how much he earned in the past. Judge said since he has no income the guidelines are thrown out and reduced my child support to zero. Spousal support stays the same (knew it would, judge can't change that). However the judge said he "understood the mother's frustration" and told my stbx that he needs to stop living off of charity (his family) and ordered him to apply to 30 places of employment by next month and to reapply for unemployment. Told him the interests of the children are the concern here. I have discovery on the 29th Feb and trial for March 1. Talked to the facilitator after and she told me I would be able to question my stbx at trial, ask him questions about work and I can state as fact things he told me about his job in the past and to look in the classifieds to show there are jobs available for him. I'm overwhelmed and frustrated. Why couldn't the judge impute income for him? Why wait? He put on his FL-150 form that he used to make $20 hr and I had pay stubs that showed it. I feel like he got off the hook. What do I submit in discovery? Do I submit the questions I plan on asking him at trial? Will the judge go harder on him next month? How hard/easy is it to prove he can get at least a minimum wage job?

Divorce is final, but nothing changed...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:49:45 -0600

Hello everyone,

My divorce has been final since December, since I live in California it's community property, which means each spouse gets 50%.

It was a "mutual consent" divorce, to avoid dragging the kids through courts (they are 6 and 9), because a lot of ugly things would have resurfaced. Talking with other spouses who chose that route, the usual story is that they are still married years later, the only difference is that they now have hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

Now, I may be divorced now, but it sure doesn't feel like it. I'm basically stuck, since I need my spouse's agreement to get things moving. He's quite happy with dragging his feet, and he would love to stay in this situation forever. For instance, we still live in the same house. Whatever I do to speed things up as far as selling it, he won't do anything. I cannot force him to do anything (I won't mention a long story of physical and emotional abuse, but it comes into play there). Property division just isn't happening, even though it is mentioned in the divorce papers. When? It is not specified.

So is my only option to go back to court? Isn't there a simple way to simply *enforce* the divorce decision without going back to court for years? I would be willing to find a way to amend the divorce papers, as to set a deadline. I would be willing to go back to court if the intervention was limited to that issue. Basically, anything that requires his consent I cannot do. I cannot sell anything (house, cars, etc.), and I cannot move on with my life. Living in this house, I just feel like going to sleep and never waking up, as there is no end in sight, even though it's supposedly already over...

Thank you for listening
Marie

california spousal support for Domestic partnerships unregistered with the state

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:44:21 -0600

How many avenues are available to me for getting spousal support if we had a domestic partnership in san francisco ca. that was never registered with the state? Her job was a much higher paying job than mine so I was a stay at home dad for her two children from a previous marriage when she walked out with no notice and left me broke and is now sue'n me to force the sale of our house knowing full well that Im broke as a result of having the rug pulled out from under me not to mention Ive been cut off from the children I helped raise for 7 years.

How to Stop the Process

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:06:22 -0600

I received my papers back in the mail again. The paralegal working on them said it would be a quick fix and to send them back in. The last three months my circumstances have changed and I am wondering if I can stop the divorce since i got the paper work back or do I need to do something to stop the process?

Frustrated

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:56:14 -0600

My court date was 2/7/12 and my divorce should have been final on this date. I have been trying to get a divorce for a year and a half. My attorney told me that my divorce was not granted because I have a loan against my retirement and my ex is entitled to 1/2 of the funds because I live in California. Do I have to pay this loan off before my divorce can be final? I am so frustrated my attorney did not see this prior to going to court! Ahhhh, I feel like I'm going to be stuck with my ex forever! I have met someone very special and we would like to start our life.

Alimony calculations

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:33:57 -0600

My gross pay is high, but I have a note payable to the firm that is deducted leaving me a small net pay?

child visitation for step parents

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:35:09 -0600

Visitation non blood relative/step grand parent, domestic partnership in San Francisco California?%0d%0a%0d%0aIm have been looking every where I can think of for "points of authority,statutes or precedents" of any kind whether it be California family law or newly enacted Domestic partnership rights but can find very little. %0d%0a%0d%0aPLEASE, I am open to any legal course even if "unorthodox" because there just isnt much out there and I think that there custody case will close soon ending my opportunity to "Joinder" to the custody battle. I have been trying to think creatively and searching for a "back door" approach that could give a judge the ability to grant this request knowing that parental rights in California are fairly well defined and I m out of my depth and can not afford an attorney at this time. It has been nearly six months since I have seen or heard any thing from them and I know it hurts them as much as it hurts me.%0d%0ashort fact list%0d%0a1.I was until recently in a common law relationship that lasted over 16 years%0d%0aOf those 16 years, the last 8years we where also Registered domestic partners in the city of San Francisco (but not the state of Cal.) owning a house together, joint bank accounts ect.%0d%0a2. because of my stepdaughters lack of resources I was the primary care giver for the two grand children since birth now (5 & 7 years of age), this is substantiated by over 60 written affidavits of third parties with direct knowledge of my relationship as caregiver to the two children as well as the mother's state/federal tax returns claiming me for the maximum tax deduction for child care costs annually.%0d%0a3. I have been an integral part of their daily life since birth (in our home) and no one other than their biological mother has more accumulated hours in caring for the two children other than my self.I have attended all the parent teacher meetings at the children's school filling the space of the absent father. I am also the sole member