I am interested in hearing from anyone that has had difficuly in divorce particulary where ex spouses hide assets. In this case, he is particulary wealthy and has taken all assets out of his name. He has reduced child support (by recieving cash in hand - family business empire) to figure not worth quoting. i spend this amount just in travelling to work one way per day. problem is, because I work, I am not entitled to legal aid. There for, for me to take him to court, it will cost up to an estimated $50k Aud. The very reason I need to go to court as he owes me $25k, we need to divide assets and I need help paying for childcare etc. I think it is appalling that if I leave my job, I can apply for legal aid, however why I work and try to be responsible mother, I cannot even afford to register my car now which is due. Any advice or does anyone know a solicitor that will work on commission. We can get what he owes me but I need to get him to court.
Answers:
Even if you left your job, I doubt legal aid would help you - they simply don't have enough resources to go around so they are usually forced to choose to help those who may go to jail if they aren't helped.
The Family Court is well-geared to helping self-represented litigants, and has a lot of helpful information on its website: http://www.familycourt.gov.au/presence/c...
I have been involved in a few cases where the husband did precisely as yours is doing and, unless you can somehow tie him down to prove (via documents or affidavit evidence) that he is lying on his financial statement (which is a compulsory document that he will have to complete and swear to its truth), you are stuck with a decision to either hire an investigator, or write your money off! As much as the Court may sympathise with you, and may even suspect he's hiding things, they can't really do much unless you can show them some proof. For example, if they made some order for him to pay an amount based on a hunch he had hidden money, that order would be overturned on appeal, and you would be hit with the costs of the appeal!
Many solicitors (and even barristers) will work on a "speculative" basis - which means they agree not to charge you anything if you don't win. It's illegal for them to charge a percentage of your win but, if you do win, and they have agreed to take your matter "on spec", they are entitled to charge you up to 50% more than they would normally be allowed to charge.
I suggest having a talk with a free legal centre, and possibly the Law Society in your state to get some numbers of solicitors. Call a few and ask if someone will see you for a free initial consultation.
A good Private Investigator can find his assets. It is a real shame that a Dad would treat the mother of his child like this, knowing it hurts the child also. Good Luck.
I don't know what its like in Aussie-land, but Australia being a common law country, I am relatively certain that there are fraudulent transfer laws.
I do not know how ethical it is for a solicitor to collect a commission or a contingency fee in relation to child support payments. But I do believe that, as Aussie-land is a common law nation, she would have statutory provisions for attorney's fees in a child support collection matter.
Of course, the solicitor may only be able to go so far, and if you need argue in court, a Barrister may be in order.
I have no sympathy for you. Divorce is such an easy cop-out, especially when you use it as an excuse for financial failure. He should not have hidden his assets, but hey, you must have forced him in a corner financially for him to do this. It would have been better for you to be civil, rather than 'suck him dry'. Do you let him see his children, or do you threaten to take him to court, if he shows up to see his children? Obviously, the only motive is to take 'daddy's money' no matter what, because you are willing to give a commission. Quit whining. You wanted the divorce, and it was not your husbands first choice, but yours.
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