Just got an email today from her attorney that apparently I’m 60 days past financial disclosures and it’s due today. I just did financials in July and they postponed final orders because mom made false child molestation allegations. Her attorney was doing the same nonsense in June, requesting financials and after I provided them, he’d say I was non-compliant and change what was being requested. He did it 3 different times, and I went along with it because I knew the game. For this final orders hearing, financials aren’t required unless they want them, and they never requested anything from me nor have they provided anything to me. Is this a common tactic attorneys use to postpone hearings? My ex has been dodging final orders because they will address her contempt of the temporary orders and the unfounded molestation allegations for this hearing. I would assume that because they never made a request until the due date, that their request isn’t valid. This isn’t something you can get done in a matter of hours and there’s nothing from the court that this was needed. I view it as nothing more than a petty attempt to make me look evasive since they have nothing else on me. I lost my insurance job due to the allegations because I’m licensed with the state, and the company felt I was a liability since I could potentially lose my license. Doesn’t matter that it was unfounded; they viewed it as a liability. Not a lot of financials to provide since she cost me my job and I can’t work in the industry again until my company releases my carrier appointments.
I recommend you consult with a CO attorney as I am not your attorney and cannot give you legal advice. There is an automatic statutory requirement to file updated financial disclosures at least 7 days before trial. This would be an updated sworn financial statement and any relevant disclosures that have changed or need to be updated. I know it’s annoying, but it’s a clear requirement. See CRCP 16.2(h)(1).
What’s funny is I was Pro Se; we had an exhibit deadline of July 3. I filed mine, and he never did, even leading up to final orders of July 24th. He was supposed to send me the JTMC before our hearing on July 11, and he sent it less than 24 hours before the pre-trial hearing. Basically, the hearing was for nothing since there was no time to do the JTMC.
Unfortunately, this kind of conduct happens all the time, and judges routinely gloss over it. The updated financials are required without their requests. I usually focus on the 2 or 3 most egregious acts and remain laser-focused with clear language to show the judge what actually happened.
This sounds really state-specific to me. You need a CO family law attorney to help you navigate discovery and what has to be provided prior to a final hearing. Outstanding discovery can be a reason to postpone a trial or hearing, but if you object to the postponement, the court might deny it.
I’m in Colorado. My husband failed to provide his financials timely, and when he did, they were missing a lot. I brought it up at every opportunity, and during the pretrial conference, I named almost 20 different accounts and W2’s that were missing. In my pretrial statement, I asked for sanctions.
I definitely have all the emails from this mess. It’s crazy how they think they can get away with this kind of behavior. Family court can feel like a joke sometimes, especially with the lack of enforcement on deadlines.