Candice - posted on 12/10/2009 ( 72 moms have responded )
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Ok, so i haven't gotten any order yet...so no one get too excited for me. But i did get two pieces of birthday joy today.
First, my lawyer says no more fees. If legal aid re-assesses me before the case is done, he will finish it at no cost and to tell legal aid to cancel my certificate. he says he rarely bills them more than what i've paid them already. YAY.
The second was to hear the female judge tell my ex that his poor spending habits aren't K's fault and she shouldn't have to suffer because of them. She told him the next judge (the one who CAN make an order) will likely tell him the same thing and she sees no reason why he would qualify to make a claim of undue hardship to reduce his support amount.
She told him that according to the guidelines, he will either have to pay (dependent on the judge's interpretation) 1/4 of the amount listed for 4 kids (since he has other kids) or the full amount for 1 kid (so between $200 and $316/mo) and that his offer of $100 a month didn't even come close. when he said he didn't understand why the guidelines are so high, the judge said "i didn't make them. If you have debt, get a credit counsellor. but i'm not one. and there's no reason why you should pay less than every other child support paying parent in canada".
she also warned him that if we make an offer and he rejects it and it ends up being ordered the same or more, he will have to pay some of my legal costs. haha. maybe that will motivate him.
the likelyhood of him accepting the offer is slim though. My lawyer is offering the full $316. He doesn't see why he shoudl get a reduction since he's not paying the full guidline amount for his other kids...he's only paying $300. so even if i get $316 he'll be paying less than the guideline amount for 4 kids. We're also asking for arrears, and life insurance, and health insurance, and half of daycare costs if i lose my subsidy. He'll be pissed.
In court he said he's not fighting custody or visitation though. we'll see if he sticks to that when it comes time to sign off on it. but we can hope. either way, i had a nice smile on my face just hearing the judge put him in his place. it was a wonderful birthday gift.
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