In high conflict/high asset divorces, hiding resources is common, but, no more common than in any divorce. Let's face it, no one wants to pay for the soon to be ex's standard of living when they're not pulling their own weight.
In a rare case of poetic justice, a judge in Tampa found a "dead beat" dad guilty of CRIMINAL CONTEMPT OF COURT, for not paying child support and alimony to his ex-wife. Judges almost NEVER put people in jail for not paying child support and even more rarely for not paying alimony. But in this case, the court must have found the man had the ability to pay. Usually people who are behind on child support do not have the ability to pay, which is something the court must find before they hold someone in contempt.
I think even worse for this guy is that he is still on the run, not even bothering to show up for court hearings as well as not following court orders, only showing he refuses to play by the rules.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, John Stanton, the former owner of a mult-million dollar Tampa business, owes more than $6 million dollars in back child support. The couple has only been divorced since 2009 - the wife was sure getting an unusally high amount of child support.
Stanton's excuse for not paying is that he's now broke and living on "borrowed money". Somehow I have a feeling he's been living on "borrowed money" his whole life. Meanwhile, in the type of behavior that makes all attorneys look bad, his ex-wife's attorney calls him "the national poster child for dead-beat dads," and "John the con" , in court! Yikes, nothing like name when you can't articulate a legal argument.
If you think your soon to be ex is hiding assets, or you think they will once you file for divorce, call us and we'll help you develop a strategy to minimize this, in a cost effective way. Pawuk & Pawuk has recently contracted with a Certified Financial Planner and former hedge fund manager who can spot this kind of trickery in a heartbeat. Call us today.
