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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    CA
    Posts
    2

    Default Division of Veteran's Housing Benefits and Debts in Divorce

    My question involves a marriage in the state of: CA

    Hello all. Thanks in advance for your time in reading this.

    Summary of my situation: Wife filed 2/26/15. We have 4 kids. Since filing we have lived in the same house and worked out a 50% custody schedule. My wife has now lawyered up and is asking for an ex parte hearing two days from now to get a spousal/child support order so she can rent her own place and move out.

    About two weeks before she filed I started taking classes under the GI Bill. I started getting a housing allowance related to those classes after the filing. I know that Veterans benefits are considered income under precedent, but there are a few facts here that make me wonder if a judge is really going to count it.

    1. A few weeks after the filing my class performance plummeted and I'm failing both classes. I'm not sure if the VA will come looking for that money back or not.
    2. The allowance is based on a defined period of enrollment, and then ends. Another allowance starts in the next period of enrollment for that period, and is based on the number of credit hours taken. It only counts during the dates you're actually attending.
    3. My parent school does not even have classes for me to take in the summer. So in my current program I cannot possibly earn the housing allowance from June through September when our divorce will be final.
    4. I discussed via text with my ex about possibly switching degree programs to something in the summer in order to keep the allowance coming in. She takes this as proof I can and will switch programs to keep the allowance coming in.
    5. The housing allowance I HAVE gotten thus far is a little over half of the max, and I'm in the process of getting it fixed because it is supposed to be the max. But as of right now I'm only getting like 1160 out of the 2000 max per month.

    Now, my ex's lawyer wants to base her support of the additional 2K income of the MAX housing allowance.

    My first question is this:

    >>>> 1. Can a judge really FORCE me to enroll in certain classes, a certain number of credit hours, switch degree programs, and then succeed in a passing grade? I can't handle it right now. I'm a mess and I have to fix up and sell my house (by owner) this summer in between 50% custody and working full time. My ex is zero help. It would also be ordering me to attend classes during MY custody time, which I would not consider acceptable.

    My second question is:

    >>>> 2. If she is awarded, say, 4000 a month of the 6500 we take home, who is responsible for the payment of all of our debt obligations totaling around 3500 a month? (That does not include the mortgage we stopped paying on 4 months ago) And if we are at 50% custody, why wouldn't the judge split the money down the middle and give us each half, no matter what the guideline numbers are? It seems odd she should get a larger share of the money when we share the same debt and have the same custody.

    Thanks,

    Veteran1974

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Divorce - Income, Debts, and Payments Between Filing and Finalization

    Well... yes and no. They court really can't force you to take classes and graduate. They can suggest it, or they can order you to find work, but not to complete school if you're not able to do so.

    California is a community property state, so the simple answer to the second question is "yes" - you get to share the debt as well as the property and assets.

    A 50/50 timeshare doesn't mean that there's no child support - if there is a large discrepancy between yours and Mom's income, the court can order the higher earning parent to pay some child support.

    There's also the element of alimony. It can be ordered even if the marriage is only a few years old. I strongly suggest you speak with an attorney asap.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    CA
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Divorce - Income, Debts, and Payments Between Filing and Finalization

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
    View Post
    Well... yes and no. They court really can't force you to take classes and graduate. They can suggest it, or they can order you to find work, but not to complete school if you're not able to do so.

    California is a community property state, so the simple answer to the second question is "yes" - you get to share the debt as well as the property and assets.

    A 50/50 timeshare doesn't mean that there's no child support - if there is a large discrepancy between yours and Mom's income, the court can order the higher earning parent to pay some child support.

    There's also the element of alimony. It can be ordered even if the marriage is only a few years old. I strongly suggest you speak with an attorney asap.
    Thanks for the reply.

    I already work full time, providing all the income. This is just a question about the school money.

    I understand I'll be paying some support. I just thought it didn't make sense for me to be paying more than half of what I bring home when we have 50/50 custody. I understand alimony and that it is a function of her standing on her own and/or getting remarried. Both of which will be happening rather quickly. She finishes her training program around the time we're final.

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