why is her divorce lawyer asking for my income and expenses

Who pays the lawyer’s fees in a divorce case?

Lying on an income and expense declaration is a bad idea. Lying on income and expense declaration forms in a divorce, child support or spousal support case is one of the dumbest things a spouse or parent can do. Those who do it and do …

What can I do with my spouse’s excess income during a divorce?

Get ready to calculate — living expenses, that is. During divorce, a lot of financial examination takes place so your lawyer or Certified Divorce Financial Analyst can help you divide assets and determine any child or spousal support. As part of this process, you will need to fill out a Financial Affidavit, which contains an accurate picture of your income, expenses, assets, and …

How important is the income and expense declaration in a divorce?

The law gives people in divorce, legal separation or annulment cases the right to ask the judge to order one side to pay the other side’s lawyer’s fees (attorney’s fees) and costs. The purpose of an order for lawyer’s fees is not to punish one side or reward the other, but to even the playing field so both sides can have access to a lawyer.

Do I need a family lawyer for income and expense declaration?

Oct 20, 2017 · In a contested divorce, you are likely to accumulate thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees because your lawyer must spend an enormous amount of time preparing the case and filing paperwork. You...

What is the purpose of an income and expense declaration?

The Income and Expense Declaration is important since it is used for a variety of financial issues in a family law case. The declaration is required by a court to determine issues such as child support, spousal support (alimony), attorney fees, and other financial related issues.Feb 23, 2017

Do I have to support my wife after divorce?

As long as the couple remains married, the court does not set a time limit on spousal support. Maintenance on the other hand, is support the higher-earning spouse pays after the divorce is finalized.Jul 12, 2016

How do I show my ex is lying about income?

Your attorney has several legal avenues available for uncovering the truth. These may include subpoenas for your ex's pay stubs, bank statements, credit card statements, or tax returns. Your attorney may also submit a request for sworn testimony from your ex about his or her financial assets.

Why does the wife get half in a divorce?

California Is a Community Property State When a married couple gets divorced, their community property and debts will be divided equitably. This means they will be divided fairly and equally.Apr 15, 2020

How much money should a husband give his wife after divorce?

If the alimony is being paid on a monthly basis, the Supreme Court of India has set 25% of the husband's net monthly salary as the benchmark amount that should be granted to the wife. There is no such benchmark for one-time settlement, but usually, the amount ranges between 1/5th to 1/3rd of the husband's net worth.Jan 27, 2020

What can wife claim in divorce?

For example, under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, both the husband and wife are legally entitled to claim permanent alimony and maintenance. However, if the couple marries under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, only the wife is entitled to claim permanent alimony and maintenance.

How can I prove my ex is hiding money?

Before confronting your spouse about hidden assets, consider gathering evidence of financial mismanagement, unapproved transactions, or income/expense discrepancies. This evidence may include: Any available tax returns and documents, including W2s and 1099s. Statements from joint bank accounts.Jul 24, 2020

How can I hide income from my ex wife?

Cash is one of the best ways to hide money from a spouse Cash is a good way to hide money because it can be done in many ways. Your spouse could cash an inheritance check, then put the cash in a safe deposit box. Or get cash back on everyday purchases and store it casually in a dresser drawer.Jan 10, 2020

How can a judge tell if someone is lying?

First of all, liars have difficulty maintaining eye contact with the person asking the questions. If the witness looks up at the ceiling while thinking of an answer, or looks down at the floor, they are liying every time. When a witness covers his mouth with his hand, he is about to lie.

Who suffers the most in a divorce?

Men are more than twice as likely to suffer from post-divorce depression than women. Anxiety and hypertension are common in men after divorce, which can result in substance abuse and in the worst cases, suicide. Ten divorced men commit suicide in the U.S. each day.Jul 20, 2020

Who benefits more from divorce?

Generally: Men who provide less than 80% of a family's income before the divorce suffer the most. On the other hand, men who provided more than 80% of a family's income before a divorce do not suffer as much financial loss, and may even marginally improve their financial situation.

How can a divorced wife avoid losing everything?

If divorce is looming, here are six ways to protect yourself financially.Identify all of your assets and clarify what's yours. Identify your assets. ... Get copies of all your financial statements. Make copies. ... Secure some liquid assets. Go to the bank. ... Know your state's laws. ... Build a team. ... Decide what you want — and need.Dec 31, 2019

What can a family law lawyer do for you?

What a family law lawyer can do for you is show you do not have to rely just on the income and expense declaration to get the information you need. You can conduct something called discovery, which is a formal request for information.

What is income and expense declaration?

An income and expense declaration is the foundation for a husband, wife or parent's testimony to the Court about his or her income and expenses. It is often the first impression the Court has of the spouse or parent. Since some judge's first instinct is to trust what is stated in the income and expense declaration, ...

What is section 13 on a tax return?

Section 13 is the line item expenses. Care must be taken. The box "estimated", "actual" or "proposed" are critical regarding what the person filling out the income and expense declaration is telling the Court these expenses signify. Estimated is the present estimate of them. Actual is the actual dollar amount of them. Proposed is sometimes thought of as what they are or need to be (especially when the person filing out the form is living well below, as one example, a marital lifestyle)

What is Section 16?

Section 16 is about the amount of time with the children. This helps the judge figure out what each parent claims is their respective timeshare with the children. Parenting time being a key part to child support under California law.

Is child support based on gross income?

This is usually not helpful because child support and temporary spousal support is based in large part on gross (pre-tax) income. 2. Expenses understated to show the other spouse or parent must be exaggerating his or her expenses.

How to calculate living expenses?

Steps to Calculate Living Expenses 1 Start with the easy things that have a fixed monthly cost: mortgage, home and car insurance, life insurance, real estate taxes, bills such as cable or Internet, car payment, and anything else you pay each month at a fixed rate. 2 Then you can move on to anything you pay weekly or that you can calculate by the week. This includes groceries, services such as lawn care or housekeeping, dry cleaners, gas for your car, parking, cabs, tolls, or other travel expenses such as subway/metro fares. You can also include dining out, your children’s allowance, tutors, and child care. Don’t forget: there are 4.3 weeks per month. 3 Next, call service providers to get an annual figure for your utilities and other expenses. Once you have the annual number, you can divide it by 12. Such areas are: gas, electric and water companies, your car dealership or car repair shop for maintenance and repairs, the veterinarian, your doctor, and gym or health club. 4 Next up is estimations. Estimate how much you spend on the following: clothing/shoes/accessories, home repairs and maintenance, newspapers or other subscriptions (including electronic), gifts, donations, vacations, entertainment, etc. Take notes of how you estimated these so you remember later. 5 Finally, you’ll review it with your lawyer or financial adviser and figure out your gross monthly number. Note: the final monthly figure does not include any taxes you are responsible for paying.

What are the things that have a fixed monthly cost?

Start with the easy things that have a fixed monthly cost: mortgage, home and car insurance, life insurance, real estate taxes, bills such as cable or Internet, car payment, and anything else you pay each month at a fixed rate.

What to do if your court order is related to divorce?

If your court’s family law facilitator or self-help center helps people with orders related to a divorce, ask them to review your paperwork. They can make sure you filled it out properly before you move ahead with your case.

Why does the judge order one side to pay a fine?

There are also instances in divorces and legal separations where the judge may order one side to pay a sanction (like a fine) because he or she behaves in an illegal or unethical way. Examples include situations where one party:

What are some examples of family law cases?

Some examples include custody and visitation cases where the parents are not married to each other, child or spousal support cases, and domestic violence cases.

Who signs a court order?

If the judge makes a decision at the court hearing, the judge will sign a court order. In some courtrooms, the clerk or court staff will prepare this order for the judge ’s signature. In other courtrooms, it is the responsibility of the person who asked for the hearing to prepare the court order for the judge to sign.

Who prepares court orders?

In some courtrooms, the clerk or court staff will prepare this order for the judge’s signature. In other courtrooms, it is the responsibility of the person who asked for the hearing to prepare the court order for the judge to sign. If either side has a lawyer, the lawyer will usually be asked to prepare the order.

What is a good attorney for divorce?

An experienced family law attorney is often a good idea for situations where the divorcing couple has a large amount of assets, property or other complicated financial matters. In more contentious divorces, an attorney can make sure that your interests are represented in court.

How to prepare for divorce?

If you’re thinking about divorce, you need to immediately begin to set aside money for the all the expenses involved. Make copies of all your financial documents and legal records before your divorce proceedings begin.

Can you use your kids to manipulate your spouse?

This should go without saying, but unfortunately, it still happens, even unintentionally. Check your own behavior and don’t use your kids to punish or manipulate your spouse. In the end, this will cause resentment and have a negative impact on the relationship you have with your children.

Is it normal to want to tell someone about divorce?

Emotions are running high, it’s perfectly normal to want to let others know what’s going on in your life. You may desperately want support, you may not want to suffer in silence, or you may just want to punish your partner and embarrass them. This doesn’t mean that you have to keep your a divorce secret from everyone, you just need to decide who you tell and why.

How much does a divorce cost?

Contested divorces cost anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, though there are plenty of ways to limit the staunch the outward flow of cash before and during the process.

How to choose a divorce attorney?

There are several things to look for when choosing a divorce attorney. You want to choose someone who is experienced, respected, competent, and affordable. If they are proving to not be a good fit though, change them. Because you can, even if the reason is that you don't get on with him or her. Bear in mind however that if an attorney has worked on your case, you'll have to pay her/him for their time. Also, it might damage your case to change attorney's when you are close to a court ordered deadline, so only do it after careful consideration.

What is fault based divorce?

Fault-based divorce is when one spouse committed an act that gives legal justification to the ending of the marriage. These acts include adultery, a felony conviction, cruelty, or desertion.

What does it mean to be uncontested in divorce?

An uncontested divorce means that you and your spouse agree child custody, spousal support, child support, visitation, and division of property. If you find that there is no need to fight over these things, you've already saved yourself thousands of dollars.

How to start a divorce?

One of the best and simplest ways to do that is to start a divorce file. In this file, keep every bit of paper that could have an effect on how your divorce proceedings. Gather copies of all important financial documents and access to all account information. Keep it organized and easy to navigate.

Is divorce law firm bigger than solo practice?

In any industry, the larger a company is, the bigger volume it's doing. Divorce law firms are no different, prompting many people to seek a solo practitioner who is more invested in the outcome of your case. Paradoxically, however, if the solo practitioner does not have adequate support staff in his or her office, your case may end up not getting the attention and care you were promised.

What is mediation in divorce?

Mediation is a process whereby you and your spouse sit down with a neutral third party to negotiate several important areas of divorce. It's a low-cost way to address practically any other disagreement you and your spouse may have. While the mediator's decision is not binding, it allows a neutral party to provide their perspective on how divorce related issues should be addressed. However, mediation can only be a useful tool if you and your spouse can come to an broad agreement.

What to do if your spouse owns a business?

You have the option of hiring a forensic accountant to investigate whether there are additional assets your spouse is hiding.

What are employment related issues?

From work schedules and the ability to spend time with the children to income and retirement accounts, employment-related issues affect virtually every decision a court makes. While most spouses are forthcoming about their work, income, and retirement accounts, others may attempt to falsify or hide important financial information.