Legal Question in Family Law in California

Child Support

My brother is currently separated from his wife, and he owes roughly $100K in child support to his three children that has accumulated over the last 10 years. When his wife filed for child support, she estimated his income at $50K annually, and in actuality, his average annual earnings are much less than half of this amount. He claims the amount has accumulated due to their "on again/off again" relationship, and failed promises to reconcile and discharge debt, etc. At this point, he is not allowed to renew his drivers license in CA, has had it suspended in CA, and has lost job prospects because of the debt. He also claims his wife is willing to waive amounts owed to her in exchange for a divorce settlement. Is this legal? Can he raise a claim for perjury or fraud against his wife for falsifying affidavits regarding his income to a court? To make matters worse, he now lives and works in Missouri, and the state's atty gen.'s office has threatened to jail him if he does not begin to make payments based on his CA debt.


Asked on 9/18/00, 6:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Diana Mercer Peace Talks Mediation Services

Re: Child Support

It all sounds legal. Your brother might wish to call the Family Law Facilitator's office at (213) 974-5004 to see if he can get some help. He probably also needs to hire a CA attorney...there's a lot of money at stake and as you can see, you can get into trouble fast. If the case is pending in LA, the Los Angeles County Bar Association has some excellent resources on a pre-recorded information line at (213) 627-2727. Good luck!

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Answered on 10/20/00, 12:20 pm


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