Question about Interrogatories and request for doucments by ex's attorney

[ER]

Soc..

Ex filed motion to change parenting plan to give her medical decision making rights and to re-instate a Social Worker that I fired due to unprofessional conduct regarading the well being of our child.

My attorney countered filed with the same motion of keeping the decision rights with me as residential parent and an increase in child support due to change in circumstances to my ex's income.

Pre-trial Judge orders a new GAL to make decison and investigate.

My attorney sent me a Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents that has to be answered in 30 days from my ex's attorney.

The request asks for all my incomes records from 5 years to present. Any other sources or income plus and banks I have dealt with. The requests ask for all witnesses and documentation including tape records prior to trial. (we have not even got anywhere near there) No where does it ask about our son or anything realated to him just income and documents.

1. What exactly does this mean and how does it relate to my ex's motion or my motioned filed.

2. Do I have to answer these inquires to an extent as some of this as some of the questions I feel, have no importance on our case.

3. Is this just an attorney trick regarding child support since she pays me and claims she has no money but yet gets money from her father all the time?

4. What are my options to defeat this or counter this request.

Thanks

[socrateaser]

>1. What exactly does this mean and how does it relate to my
>ex's motion or my motioned filed.

Your attorney asked for a support mod. If you are in a State where the custodial parent's income is used to calculate support, then your income is relevant, and so your records of income are relevant.

Five years, however, is overbroad and unduly burdensome, in my view, unless you have an extremely variable income stream. If your income is primarily from wages, then 1-2 years should be more than sufficient, and I would object to producing 5 years worth of records.

Furthermore, if the request for records actually says "all" then that indicates opposing counsel is not much of an attorney. Requests for evidence must be reasonably precise, and I would probably object to producing any records until the other party narrows the scope of discovery to what is "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence."

>
>2. Do I have to answer these inquires to an extent as some of
>this as some of the questions I feel, have no importance on
>our case.

Unless you can show that the evidence requested is not "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence," then yes, you do.

>
>3. Is this just an attorney trick regarding child support
>since she pays me and claims she has no money but yet gets
>money from her father all the time?

Discovery requests are routine and required under the attorney's duty of care and competence, so the attorney must ask. Your attorney should be able to narrow the scope somewhat.

Also, you cannot produce what you don't reasonably have. For example, if you don't have check statements from 5 years ago, or the bank doesn't send back your cancelled checks, and it will cost you $2 a check for copies, then this would be unduly burdensome unless the other party wants to share the cost or there is some articulable rationale for suspecting that you are seriously misrepresentating your income on your tax returns.
>
>4. What are my options to defeat this or counter this
>request.

Ultimately you will not defeat the request with regard to your most recent two year's tax returns and checking account and interest or brokerage account statements. However, you could argue that until custody is actually determined, that the request is unduly burdensome, because until custody is determined, support, while at issue, cannot be determined. Thus, your time to respond should be continued until the custody issue is resolved.

[ER]

Soc,

First I was not married to my ex, and second my ex was never happy she had to pay child support to her son as well as medical insurance. Actually her father pays her monthly in check to balance out her income which really does not have an effect.

I am self-employed so for the last 4 years my income basically was stayed the same, infact I gave 3 years returns to the courts when we were determining the CS order. but the attorney submitted the highest income of those years.

Here is what they are asking on the income side:

Copies of all bank statements for past 3 years
Documents relative to the receipt of income for past 5 years
Tax returns for the past 3 years
Banks which have done busines with past 3 years
Identify all soruces of income past 5 years and the exact amount from payor

As for statements you are correct. My bank does not send them in check form but actually I get a photo copy of them for my business but not personal. Any other statements would cost me $$$.

One note, is that custody was already ordered as a shared-parenting. a year ago and I am the residentail parent but it is not a 50/50 split. My son lives with me and his mother gets visitation. That is why the fuss over CS is an issue for her.

1. When the court calulates income, my orignal attorney told me all I would need is income statements or tax returns. I did not need to produce anyting else such as balances on accounts or balances of securities or holdings or any estimates of net worth.  Is this correct?


2. When you commented about the custody issue being resolved before answering the questions were you referring to the recent motion my ex filed about medical decision making and awaiting the outcome of that?

3. Can a non-residential parent have medical decision making rights through the courts or be granted them?

Thanks again!

[socrateaser]

>1. When the court calulates income, my orignal attorney told
>me all I would need is income statements or tax returns. I did
>not need to produce anyting else such as balances on accounts
>or balances of securities or holdings or any estimates of net
>worth.  Is this correct?

It varies from State to State, so I can't say. Generally, all recurring income is relevant. One time windfall income (sale of home, business, lottery winnings, inheritance, gift etc.) is generally not relevant unless it is extraordinarily large to the point where it changes your station in life (for example, if you inherit $10 MM, and pay off all your debts, then that debt relief is the equivalent of income, because it frees up money for support that would not have existed, but for the inheritance). Also, any investment income earned on assets, windfall or otherwise, is used in the calculation.

So if you are in a state that considers the custodial parent's income in the calculation, then you must disclose your income -- no exceptions, unless you don't want any support -- then your income won't be relevant, because support is no longer at issue, unless the other parent has enough parenting time to justify it, which may be the case in your circumstances.

>2. When you commented about the custody issue being resolved
>before answering the questions were you referring to the
>recent motion my ex filed about medical decision making and
>awaiting the outcome of that?

You stated that the other parent filed for custody (I thought) and that could take a while to resolve. If it is resolved in your favor, then support may not be an issue, so discovery would no longer be relevant.

If I got it wrong, then the discovery is timely and relevant and you must produce the documents. Also, because you are self employed, it is more reasonable to want to look at a long track record of your income. But, I still think 5 years is overbroad. Three years should be more than enough -- even two years, unless there's some question about a big asset acquisition during the past 5 years that the other parent knows of and wants to prove -- then all bets are off and you'll have to disclose.

>3. Can a non-residential parent have medical decision making
>rights through the courts or be granted them?

Highly doubtful.

PS. the fact that you are extremely worried about disclosing your income, suggests to me that you may be trying to hide something. I cannot help you hide evidence from the court -- that's fraud. So, if that's on your agenda, don't do it. Better to disclose than to sit in a jail cell for failing to do so.

[ER]

Soc, sorry for being long

I know it sounds like I am trying to hide somthing but in reality my mom passed away 6 years ago and left some money and investments to me. No where near 10MM!!! Sometimes they pay a nice dividend periodically but not every year and it is no were near enough for income to survive on without a job. My ex never knew about that becasue we were not married and second, I did not feel it was her business.

I was concerned that her attorney would go after those assests as I heard it can be done in custody cases forcing me to spent that. I can support my son without what I inheritated. I report everything on my tax returns so there is nothing to hide and I do not get paid under the table. I think the reason for the 5 year documents is they might know about my mothers inheritance and I also re-did a home 2 years ago to sell for a profit but the home sale was reported as income in court during the Child Support figuring. I even checked back 5 years of my tax returns and to be honest the average is what I was always been making. Nothing was really significant.


>You stated that the other parent filed for custody (I thought)
>and that could take a while to resolve. If it is resolved in
>your favor, then support may not be an issue, so discovery
>would no longer be relevant.

A year ago we had our Custody Trial with Shared-parenting being orderd. My ex was ordered to pay child support and medical for our son. The parenting plan adopted was by her attorney and it became ambiguitious to anyone that had contact with our meaning shcools, doctorc, etc.. It is too long to go into but it had marks on it crossing things out, it was never signed by my ex, me or the judge. Just too confusing but my old attorney wouldn't do anything about it.

As residential parent I had the right to make medical decisions by the parenting plan now, but my ex and her father feel I have hurt our son because of a fellow Social Worker that I explained to you earlier. Our son has some developmental problems.  That is the reason she filed the motion. I am not too worried becasue my son is doing excellent and I have the documentation and it has become a control issue with her father. He is extremely wealthy and very intimidating and controlling. I fear this willno way be the last time I will be in court with my ex. I will assume when I go bankrupt then it will stop because that is the intention by my ex and her fahter..


1. Thanks for the information.

2. GAL interview is WED, any thoughts on explaining the problems I am having with her father and his controlling of the situation. (Daughter gets money if she does what daddy wants her to do)

Thanks again, I will talk to my attorney about the questions and do the best.