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So what you're saying is that he refused to pay his child support and alimony, and as a result he became in arrears, subsequently losing his source of income by losing his law license, and now he's whining about it. I knew there had to be more to the story. No one has any way of knowing if those were unreasonable amounts of child support and alimony unless they know what his income was. Tax attorneys, especially those in large firms, are some of the highest paid attorneys in the country. He could have very easily been making three (or much more, depending on the firm) or four times the $200K/year he was required to pay his family temporarily. He could be making well over a million a year--tax attorneys in large firms make big bucks.
According to Salary Expert, the average annual salary of a tax attorney was $100,000 as of early 2011.
In 2010 the averages were in Big 4 accounting firms around $70-75,000; Company around $80-100,000; Big Law around $110-160,000.
This site covers the averages for 2013: Demand for Tax Lawyers 2013 | Salary By State
Lawyers are not as lavishly paid as everyone thinks. Sure, some make the big bucks, and this guy might have even been one of them, but most while doing extremely well compared to the average worker, aren't so rich they can fork out over $204,000 a year. I know my husband doesn't even make anywhere near that much a year.
Any man who chooses to get married in a state like Colorado (or the US at large to an extent) is indeed doing it at his own risk, and has to accept that a vindictive ex-spouse can often use the system to demolish his finances and even his personal liberty. That's just the risk you run, and it probably does account for at least some of the "marriage slump" that has been going on over the past few decades.
The larger question is one that few people seem to ask - is it actually appropriate to use the criminal justice system to enforce what are fundamentally civil judgments? It didn't used to work that way. Now it does. Something to consider well before you consider marriage itself...
You don't have to marry in Colorado to be divorced under Colorado law. You don't even have to live here.
If your spouse takes an extended "vacation", comes to Colorado, and gets a driver's license, then 90 days later they can divorce you in Colorado, even if you have never set foot here. You wouldn't be the first person to which this has happened. This is why Colorado's completely whack divorce laws are an issue on a national scale. It is also why Colorado has one of the highest rates of divorce and lowest rates of marriage in the US. The lower earner in a marriage is eligible for the highest amounts of alimony, for the longest periods of time, with the most stringent enforcement, of not only any state in the US, but of any jurisdiction on the planet. No other country, and no other state, will award what Colorado hands out in alimony.
As for your last question, alimony itself is a clear violation of the 13th amendment against indentured servitude, yet the Supreme Court refuses every few years to hear an appeal on the matter. They also refuse to hear arguments on the use of criminal contempt charges to resolve alimony disputes. It isn't that they have ruled that alimony is not in violation of the 13th or that criminal contempt is appropriate in an alimony case, they simply refuse to hear cases. You can certainly read between the lines as to why that is. There was a Federal ruling recently that said that no one can be incarcerated for non-payment of alimony unless they have "the keys to their cell", in other words, the means to pay off their arrears, but this ruling has been widely ignored. After all, someone who is broke and destitute does not have the money to fight a contempt charge, thus they are no threat to a judge who wants them jailed on contempt, for whatever reason.
The family law system in Colorado is desperately broken. Businesses are refusing to move here, and people are leaving, because the word is out.
At times it is. Otherwise, what other repercussion do you have if someone refuses to abide by the court's rulings?. The use of the criminal justice system is not what I have issue with, it is the amount this woman was awarded.
Her pay out was $768K over 6 years. It all depends on his income and how long they were married to know if that's reasonable or not.
It makes me nuts when people complain about alimony in situations where one spouse stayed at home and the other makes a very high income. The reason one spouse is usually home is to make it possible for the other spouse to work 24/7 to build their career. It's a sacrifice by the stay at home spouse, usually because it makes everyone else's life easier to have a 24/7 "wife and mom" to keep things running, even if it's not a whole lot of fun for mom, and she winds up taking care of EVERYTHING that both spouses normally cover together. When the complaining is coming from women, I think a lot of it is sour grapes. They wanted to stay home because it sounds WONDERFUL and they didn't get the chance. The reality is spending half your time in the car hauling kids, and the other half doing laundry, running errands, making sure home work is done, and cooking/cleaning. I was home when my kids were little, and although I adore them, I couldn't wait for them to get older so I could go back to work and spend my days with grownups. I stayed at home because it made life for my FAMILY easier--it was a lot of hard work for me, and it set back my own career. I'd LOVE to have a stay at home wife to take care of everything for me. It stinks to be one.
According to Salary Expert, the average annual salary of a tax attorney was $100,000 as of early 2011.
In 2010 the averages were in Big 4 accounting firms around $70-75,000; Company around $80-100,000; Big Law around $110-160,000.
This site covers the averages for 2013: Demand for Tax Lawyers 2013 | Salary By State
Lawyers are not as lavishly paid as everyone thinks. Sure, some make the big bucks, and this guy might have even been one of them, but most while doing extremely well compared to the average worker, aren't so rich they can fork out over $204,000 a year. I know my husband doesn't even make anywhere near that much a year.
My husband is an attorney.
You posted the median salary. That's including new hires and lawyers in practice on their own, all who make considerably less. It was stated earlier that he was a partner in a large firm. Those are the key words. Try again.
You posted the median salary. That's including new hires and lawyers in practice on their own, all who make considerable less It was stated earlier that he was a partner in a large firm. Those are the key words. Try again.
So is mine. Although, in all fairness, he's JAG, so he won't make as much. However, you know as well as I do, that people think they all make as much as they portray on TV. LOL- they also think mine flies fighter planes too, thanks to TV.
Divorce is the problem.Its too easy to get and even if one is runnign around thats when he or she should be locked up,not given a divorce.
A man that refuses to pay child support should be on a chain gang working and the state paying his wages to his kids.Same thing for a woman,she should be busting rocks .She wants to act like a man,let her act like a man,bust up some rocks in the hot sun and see how equal that is.
I stil think a woamns place is in the home,but only if she is with a real man,which are hard to find since most mothers left them for the office and fathers left for greener grass or should I say ass.
The kids in this nation are the ones doing the most hurting,not the selfish adults.Take a look at our kids now since divorce is so easy to get.
Her pay out was $768K over 6 years. It all depends on his income and how long they were married to know if that's reasonable or not.
It makes me nuts when people complain about alimony in situations where one spouse stayed at home and the other makes a very high income. The reason one spouse is usually home is to make it possible for the other spouse to work 24/7 to build their career. It's a sacrifice by the stay at home spouse, usually because it makes everyone else's life easier to have a 24/7 "wife and mom" to keep things running, even if it's not a whole lot of fun for mom, and she winds up taking care of EVERYTHING that both spouses normally cover together. When the complaining is coming from women, I think a lot of it is sour grapes. They wanted to stay home because it sounds WONDERFUL and they didn't get the chance. The reality is spending half your time in the car hauling kids, and the other half doing laundry, running errands, making sure home work is done, and cooking/cleaning. I was home when my kids were little, and although I adore them, I couldn't wait for them to get older so I could go back to work and spend my days with grownups. I stayed at home because it made life for my FAMILY easier--it was a lot of hard work for me. I'd LOVE to have a stay at home wife to take care of everything for me. It stinks to be one.
She was not a stay at home mom, for God's sakes. She is an intellectual property lawyer herself.
As long as you are conjuring up some image of a poor stay at home mom forced to live on "only" $200K per year in support, let's conjure up another possibility: she was a lawyer who worked 60 hours a week, left the kids with a nanny, was banging the pool boy, and decided she wanted to screw the pool boy more often. Since Colorado is a totally no-fault state, all she had to do is file for divorce and ask for $12,000 a month in alimony. Nothing matters here except income. If he made $500K and she made $200K herself, she would get about $12,000 a month in alimony in Colorado, regardless of how many children they had, whether she took care of them, or whether the reason for the divorce was that she was screwing the local basketball team in her husband's bed.
So is mine. Although, in all fairness he's JAG, so he won't make as much. However, you know as well as I do, that people think they all make as much as they portray on TV. LOL- they also think mine flies fighter planes too thanks to TV.
And you're absolutely right on that--everyone thinks attorneys are fabulously wealthy. Your husband is in military service, which is going to pay less, just as prosecutors (in public service) are paid less. As I'm sure you know, practicing on your own isn't as lucrative either. However, the stereotype comes from those who ARE partners in large firms. A good tax attorney who's a partner in a large law firm does very very well. My husband isn't in that income range either.
Makes you wonder how horrible of a husband and father this guy was.
He is probably an outstanding father and husband. It doesn't matter. Men are assumed to be the bad guy is all divorces, and the courts follow that assumption. What is fair and right is of no matter. My ex destroyed my life in a similar fashion. Its a crapshoot, as to the judge you wind up with.
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