Are You Wondering How Much Money Your Ex Makes?

How Much Money Your Ex Makes?

If you have been in the family law court and received orders, whether it was a divorce or custody issue, for payment of child support or spousal support, the law allows you to request financial information for the other person once per year.

Generally speaking, once you have ordered and the case is concluded, you are not permitted to do what we call discovery (the requesting and collecting of information – financial or otherwise).

However, sometimes after some time has passed maybe you have received information that the payor is making significantly more money or you simply want to find out if he/she has had a change in financial circumstances. One of the worst things you can do (however I see it all the time with people who do not have savvy legal representation) is blindly file a motion with the Court hoping to get increased support. However, they did not know the financial facts on the other side and support actually decreases.

This statute, Family Code 3664, allows you to obtain financial information once per year so that you have all the facts before determining whether it’s a good idea to file a motion for a modification in support or not.

You can do this by going on to the California court website, clicking on forms and using form FL-396. Keep in mind this form needs to be served on the person, not their attorney.