Grounds 4 Modification?

[legalques]

I filed for divorce in Nov '04. On May 28, 2008, after 9 hrs of pressure from both sides, I signed a Marital Settlement Agreement to avoid going into a 3-day trial the next day, because my attorney was almost totally unprepared. In addition to the MSA, my husband attached an Amended Family Law Financial Affidavit & child support Guidelines Worksheet which had incorrect gross, net, and monthly income figures for the 2 years listed, 2006 and 2007. His amended FA had his 2006 gross income at $260,000 when actually our joint return gross income was $605,000, & he received about 3/4 of that amount. It said his 2007 individual gross inc. was $75,000, but his Married Filing Separately 2007 tax return shows adjusted gross income of $227,000 (his taxable was$178,000, & my gross was $64,000 for '07). The Child Support Worksheet listed him having monthly gross income of $8,750 when it was around $18,000, & it said I had monthly gross income of $8,657 when it was really approx $5,333. They also used the Substantial Shared parenting formula, although since I filed in '04 he has never had our 2children the 140+ required days. I was not shown these forms before they were submitted, or any child support calculations, prior to my signing the MSA. Would these facts be grounds for modification, and is there any chance I could be awarded what I actually should have been receiving the past 2 1/2 years? ADDITIONAL INFO: *It also unfairly stated in the MSA that he would only pay $500 a month TOTAL for 2 children, & that he could claim the tax exemption for both; *I contributed over $2 million in NON-MARITAL funds & assets since we married in 1991, which he made sure all became MARITAL; *I have been a stay-at-home mom since 1994 when our son was born (daughter is 13, son 17); *My ex has an accounting degree & was formerly a CPA, has a law degree & was an attorney, has current commercial and residential building licenses, & has been a successful developer/businessman... he has high earning capacity while I do not. I would be more than happy to pay your firm a consultation fee for good advice, and possibly for help calculating what my my child support payments should have been, if relevant, and what they should now be! Thanks!!

[Attorney Howard Iken]

You probably cannot second guess the originally judgment. The fact that your attorney did a poor job is not grounds for correcting everything.

But if the current income really is different from the amounts presented during the original case - you can go back to court for a modification.

Also, if he is actually spending less overnights than the MSA states, you can modify the judgement to reflect reality. We have an accurate online child support Calculator.

Please give us a call if you would like to set up a private consultation.

Attorney Howard Iken