So, a little while back, I blogged about how Calli's ex was being a dickhead. I said:
So, we lawyered up. Cost us $800. I'd rather pay $800 to MY lawyer who has my best interests at heart than to pay $800 to HIS lawyer by just letting the thing default. On the surface of it, you may think it's the same amount of money, and that it just seems petty to pay for your own lawyer just so that he has to pay for his own, but here's why you always wanna lawyer up in a situation like this:
So, it turns out that Calli's ex got hurt on the job a while back, and hasn't been working. State guidelines in
Texas for child support is 20% of net income for one child, so He was thinking "well, 20% of zero is zero. I can get out of paying any child support!" And if we'd have just let the suit default, that's probably what would've happened.
But, when you have lawyers working the case, that's not how it goes. Our lawyer could easily have argued "well, the disability is temporary. Child support shouldn't be based on a temporary blip on his income level." And that was the direction I think she was going to go. In Texas, child support modifications bring with them legal discovery. That means we get access to bank statements, check stubs, correspondence from his job, etc.
The epic win?
Turns out that this guy is negotiating a settlement with the company for the injury, and the number I've heard talked about is in the 100K range. Well, guess what? That's income that his kids should get a part of. So, my lawyer's working it so he pays part of that settlement money. Ultimately, instead of saving a few thousand dollars, he's going to end up paying tens of thousands when the settlement comes in. This skeezy guy who doesn't seem to even want anything to do with his youngest kid might end up helping put him through college. It's sweet when things turn around.
I imagine right about now, he's regretting lawyering up in the first place.
It's worth noting that this guy has about a year's worth of child support left.
So, we lawyered up. Cost us $800. I'd rather pay $800 to MY lawyer who has my best interests at heart than to pay $800 to HIS lawyer by just letting the thing default. On the surface of it, you may think it's the same amount of money, and that it just seems petty to pay for your own lawyer just so that he has to pay for his own, but here's why you always wanna lawyer up in a situation like this:
So, it turns out that Calli's ex got hurt on the job a while back, and hasn't been working. State guidelines in
Texas for child support is 20% of net income for one child, so He was thinking "well, 20% of zero is zero. I can get out of paying any child support!" And if we'd have just let the suit default, that's probably what would've happened.
But, when you have lawyers working the case, that's not how it goes. Our lawyer could easily have argued "well, the disability is temporary. Child support shouldn't be based on a temporary blip on his income level." And that was the direction I think she was going to go. In Texas, child support modifications bring with them legal discovery. That means we get access to bank statements, check stubs, correspondence from his job, etc.
The epic win?
Turns out that this guy is negotiating a settlement with the company for the injury, and the number I've heard talked about is in the 100K range. Well, guess what? That's income that his kids should get a part of. So, my lawyer's working it so he pays part of that settlement money. Ultimately, instead of saving a few thousand dollars, he's going to end up paying tens of thousands when the settlement comes in. This skeezy guy who doesn't seem to even want anything to do with his youngest kid might end up helping put him through college. It's sweet when things turn around.
I imagine right about now, he's regretting lawyering up in the first place.
The rest is ours for the 10 years he never paid a dime. I'm not counting my chickens but the boys will definitely get something good coming their way in the next year or so. 
