Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana

15 Million at stake in a divorce settlement! Both sides have lawyers they communicate through.Wife filed for "at fault" divorce in Louisiana when husband of 18 years said he wanted a divorce because he was in love with the newest girlfriend less than 1/2 his age. (She did not list cheating as the reason due to interim support) Wife asked for financial discovery many times, then had to get motion to compel with husband having 10 days to do so by judge. After court, Husband requested wifes list of discovery via letter giving her the standard 15 days to comply. Husband was 3 weeks past his 10th day (wifes lawyer kept giving husband "just a few more days" he requested) Husband never turned in a LIST of Discovery but turned in 2 boxes of bank statements that wife has to pay her CPA to dig thru which contained bank statements from only 1 of their many many companies which is a snip-it of their assets. The husband did this just to say he turned his discovery in (again, 3 weeks past the judges due date with no discriptive list nor anything of true value on that 1 company of many) and husband has sent wife a letter wanting to discuss the issue of her being in contempt because they don't have her discovery list 1o days past her 15th day that it was due, due to compiling discovery of what she DOES know has taken us many days digging in court records. Now a conference call with wifes lawyer and judge is set in one week by husband because wife hasn't turn in her discovery as requested and is threating contempt. Wife started asking for financial discovery via lawyer 8 months ago and has asked many many times with husbands lawyer is stalling in hopes of wearing wife down to settle for the $600,000 he offered, while she runs out of money in the process. (She cashed in 70k of CD's before filing for divorce and has 20k left with $22oo coming in for child support on 2 minors because husband said they only made 19k/month on 2011 taxes only showing their personal tax papers NOT all the other tax papers. Husband has only requested discovery once at the beginning of May. Husband has already been caught by wife trying to hide assets, so wife wants his disclosure before she reveals what she has learned about their assets that she secretly copied the last few years of their marriage when things came in the mail on companies they owned and resealed them without him knowing as he has always had control pver her and of their finances even to the point of forging her name on all their tax returns for years. (I know, wifes neglecgence on that one but when one is told she will be out on the street living in a box without her kids or worse dead after husband has already broke her nose, areas on the right thing to do, get a little gray) Wifes lawyer advised her to send him her discriptive list for him to turn over to husband as 2 wrongs don't make a right. However, I feel this is a double edged sword as turning it over is the right thing to do but in the case of Sands vs. Sands. in Michigan, Mrs. Sands was rewarded 100% ownership of the assets Mr. Sands was hiding BEFORE splitting assets 50-50. Since she had no real access to any of their finances (was on auto pilot and beaten down physically and mentally and kept status quo while raising their children while he did his thing with other women) she feels she MUST get his LIST first to be able to prove he is trying to hide assests to later maybe seek a supena for her forensic CPA to be able to go into the office for "hands on all financials" or possibly get 100% ownership like Mrs. Sands. But to do with 100% proof to where he can't claim he thought that paperwork was in the boxes, she needs his LIST of Discovery. If not, he will just copy her list of what she knows about and claim that's it of their assets. NOTE: NOT all assets have paperwork involved even if her CPA would have access with a supena. Ex. She knows about a safety deposit box and found a key to it in his closet before he collected his personal items. He is on record on one of the few questions he didn't answer with "refuse" as stating "no" to "any lockboxes?" Yes, there would be documentation of a box...but not on it's contents. Shouldn't her passive lawyer not turn hers over and file for an extention or something before the 2 lawyers conference call with the judge? Shouldn't her lawyer have held the husband in contempt on day 11? I fear she and her passive lawyer will see in hindsight what I know which is her husband has nothing to gain and everything to lose and will use every tactic available by law plus some unlawful tactics to win his case as seen by his pathetic discovery boxes that hold basicly no value of their assets and now has ON FILE, the wifes failure to comply with discovery requested and the need for a conference with the judge. Where I think her lawyer has done her a disservice: he wanted to wait for husbands discovery before requesting interim interim support, so husband has enjoyed spending $50,000 on girlfriend (credit card he gave wife access to view online while married) while wife has to make it on $2200 a month with 3 kids in the home (twice) without filing a contempt of court. Not freezing lockbox or assets the new girlfriend has access to now that she is the new secretary at the office. Not filing for an extention of the discovery. contempt of court or for emergency support as she requested via email 3 times. Getting his parlegal to call her back when she requested HIM to call her and calling her 72 hours after his paralegal said she couldn't answer her questions, she does need him. It's gonna be a blood bath and I am frustrated with her lawyer as she is running out of money and should have her husbands list before she should have to turn hers over.

2 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Louisiana

Looking for something else?