January 2007

Monthly Archive

Do you Pay Child Support if your Ex is Living in your Home?

My friend took his ex-wife and child back into the house as he did not want them living in the streets. He is still paying child support and the checks are being mailed to her but at his address.

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“My friend took his ex-wife and child back into the house as he did not want them living in the streets. He is still paying child support and the checks are being mailed to her but at his address. Is this legal? Please advise and thank you.”

It is legal. If they are still separated - i.e. no intent to be married - then he still has the obligation to support the child. He may be entitled to a modification because he is supporting the child or has more timeshare. However, until a court order is changed, an order is an order. Instead of changing the support order, and if they think the living arrangement is only temporary maybe she would be willing to kick back some support money for household expenses. The facts hint at a potential justification to change custody, but that would be based on what is best for the child.


Michael Durgavich is an accomplished attorney and mediator. Maintaining a general practice in the San Jose, California area, Mr. Durgavich specializes in family law, bankruptcy, and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Durgavich can be reached through his website at http://www.MichaelDurgavich.com. Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.

 

I’ve been Paying my Ex’s Monthly Premiums for his Insurance Policy, Now That he’s Deceased Am I Entitled to any Compensation?

Summary

10 years ago my husband and I divorced. per the divorce decree he was to “maintain” an insurance policy that was in affect. He did NOT, so I made the monthly premiums myself. He is now deceased and his estate is being entered into probate.

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“10 years ago my husband and I divorced. per the divorce decree he was to “maintain” an insurance policy that was in affect. He did NOT, so I made the monthly premiums myself. He is now deceased and his estate is being entered into probate. Will a ’statue of limitations’ prevent me from collecting from his estate the premiums I paid? Hope you can give me some information.”

There are a couple of different ways to look at this. If this is treated like a written contract, then the statute of limitations begins to run when he first did not make a payment, and the staute will in all probability have already run. If we look at it like an installment contract, then each premium not paid was its own cause of action, and some of the payments would then not be time-barred by the statute of limitations.

Had you gone back to family court when he was alive, he could have been found in contempt of the Court order and a mechanism for payment could have been set up. It’s a little late for that. Statutes of limitations exist so that people do not sleep on their rights and many years later jump up and yell “gotcha!” Sometimes when a person sets a trap, he’s the one that falls into it.


Michael Durgavich is an accomplished attorney and mediator. Maintaining a general practice in the San Jose, California area, Mr. Durgavich specializes in family law, bankruptcy, and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Durgavich can be reached through his website at http://www.MichaelDurgavich.com. Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.