Can you believe this crap? BLOOD FROM A TURNIP - An Alimony Story

NOTE: This is an offtopic post and has nothing to do with gardening.
Its about the judicial system and all of its flaws, and how one x-wife (or husband?)
can be cruel and vindictive.




Blood From A Turnip: An Alimony Story


It is commonly said that you cannot get blood from a turnip. Apparently the legal system in this County has found otherwise. Over the past few months, I have been a witness to a case where they have certainly succeeded and continue to try. I apologize if this is lengthy but it is 5 years condensed. I tried to be as brief as possible.

R was disabled in 2003 after working for 17 years for Nonprofit Corp. He received long term disability insurance payments until the Spring of 2004 when he received a lump sum payment. He used the majority of this sum to pay off both marital bills and his wife’s credit card bills. (I mention this simply because this is not a case of a spouse who quits his job or becomes ‘disabled’ to avoid paying support. R was out on disability almost a full year before he was separated from his wife.)

He waited the appropriate period of time and applied for Social Security Disability. As anyone knows who has ever applied for disability, this is an ongoing and lengthy process of denials and appeals. In the meantime, he has been left to earn whatever meager income that he can.

He was separated from his wife in the Summer of 2004. She filed for spousal support and was awarded $1300 per month. This is from a man who had no regular income. At the time, he had a small amount of income from his horse business. The judge stated at that time that he had no idea how to figure spousal support payments in this case. He used an average of the deposits from the past three year’s bank statements. Two of those years, R was working and the final year he was receiving disability payments. He never took into account that his current income had been drastically reduced from that amount.

Having little or no income and not being able to pay a retainer, R was forced to represent himself in his divorce. Nothing was mentioned about spousal support until the very end of the trial when his ex-wife’s attorney asked the judge not to address it at that time but to remand it back to the juvenile and domestic court. Not being an attorney, R had no idea that this would make it a permanent part of the divorce decree and so he did not object. The divorce was granted in the Fall of 2007.

Since then it has been found that R has a degenerative joint condition that is affecting both hips . The hip joints are collapsing and they cause him extreme pain. He has gone from taking over the counter pain relievers to taking 3 different prescriptions for pain. On good days, he can walk without crutches. On bad days even the crutches don’t help. He is scheduled for one hip replacement in a few months. Hopefully, if he recovers well from the first replacement then the second will come soon after.

R’s ex-wife filed a show cause for non payment of support last fall. Even though R is living below the poverty level and is currently receiving food stamps and has not been able to work for years, the court ordered him to pay $5000 within 30 days. Needless to say, it was not possible. Not having any source of income, R could not even borrow the money. In April, he was incarcerated for contempt until the $5,000 was paid. With the help of his family and some very, very good friends, I was able to raise the money to have him released.

R appealed the court’s decision and asked for either modification of the spousal support or preferably termination as he is currently unable to work. Monday, July 6th, the judge denied the appeal. His reasoning was that R could not work when the support was ordered, he could not work when the divorce was final and he still can’t work so nothing has changed.

After hearing of R’s medical conditions and lack of income, his ex-wife requested a sheriff’s sale so that the court would force the sale of the rest of his personal belongings. Apparently both she and the court believe that you can get blood out of a turnip.

No one who is familiar with R’s circumstances and the details of the case can believe that this was ordered in the first place much less that it has been confirmed again. His attorney was in shock. No one could believe that our legal system would order him to pay something that was more than his annual income. To my knowledge, he has never been asked what his current income is.

Due to the denial of the appeal, R will no doubt end up incarcerated again because there is no possible way for him to pay this. The people of the Commonwealth of Virginia will end up paying for the senseless incarceration of another person. According to the Denver Post, the cost of incarcerating one person was $23,876 or over $65 per day and that was in 2004.

Neither of us have a clue as to what to do next. An appeal to a higher court would cost more than both our annual incomes combined. We just sit and wait for the next “Show Cause” and wonder how long it will take her to file it. We have both been so depressed that it has been hard to do anything.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment or send me an email. There seems to be no hope.

Post below or Contact 'R' if you can help, or have ideas/suggestions.

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My 2cents.

The x-wife should be sued for emotional distress, or something along those lines.
Shes is probably aware he cant pay and continues to knowingly do this.
may be something there?