Per Diem and Divorce law
 

Yea those words should not be combined at all but I am going through a divorce. My wife's lawyer is trying to get EVERY penny out of me possible. My wife left the marriage, and I found her cheating on me. She also took my child and is expecting that I adhere to the weekend visitation schedule even though I don't get weekends off. I am no where near senior to hold those off.

So my question is simply can she get my per diem? By definition it is reimbursement for expenses related to the job. My lawyer says she gets it. I say the wife doesn't. It would be like getting your tax refund taxed again as income once you file and receive your funds.

I am getting A LOT of no answers but I cannot find anything to back it up to prove to the wife's lawyer that she doesn't get the money. We are in Texas if that helps any.

Thanks
D2

You need to get a better lawyer. I believe Texas is an at-fault state. If she left and cheated, she should be getting NOTHING.

And your lawyer says?
You might be better off finding this out through a variety of avenues available to you on the web that actually deals with division of assests.
Here is an example of resources available to you:
Answers.com - Is per diem included in calculating Texas child support

USMCFLYR

I have looked on the web but per diem seems to be a rarely heard of item. I have not seen anything that goes against it in specific terms. Since no one understands it they just assume that it is income and it gets included in the child support calculations.

Unfortunately Texas is a no fault state. She cheated, left the marriage, now wants lots of money, the house and more importantly got my son. She will not negotiate better visitation terms based on my work schedule. Its weekends only and she knows I'm too junior to hold weekends off.

She wants your per diem too? Wow, you need to get yourself a better lawyer. Sorry you have to go through this. I really hate women like that. If you need more info on the wording of visitation for the parenting plan, let me know. I can see what exactly my lawyer called it for the flexible visitation schedule.

My quick reading of the link that I sent you DID in fact make it seem that PER DIEM was considered a form of compensation and therefore used in the CALCULATION of the child support. Now the per diem might not even be enough to bump you up into the next bracker of child support from where you would be if it were not used in the calculations in the first place, but this would seem to be a fairly easy question for a divorce lawyer from TX to figure out. I think one case in your favor is that is a constantly changing form of compensation and therefore would not be an easy number to tack down.
My sister works for the OK agency in charge of child support and such. I'll pose the question to her how OK handles it just as another example.

USMCFLYR

Per diem is reimbursement to you and it only needs to be reported to the IRS if you itemize your deductions. It wouldn't need to be reported to the IRS if you took the standard deduction that goes for all employer reimbursements I believe. I wonder if you would do well to file a 1040x a year or two back and change from married filed together if you did to married filed sepersately and of course do that from now on until you are officially singe.

Yes I'd love to see some wording on it. Right now since my round peg of a schedule does not fit the square hole of the court I am SOL.

I did ask the question and in fine legalize form - the answer was - DEPENDS.

OK is of course different than TX, but in some of the cases where she worked with this situation it varied. Sometimes they went after it - sometimes they didn't. Clear as mud :confused::(

Seems that working closely with opposing counsel (through YOUR attorney) is going to be the best chance you have to to get an equitable asessment of child support.

Best of luck.

USMCFLYR

depends
 

Sorry to hear about your situation.
What state are you in?
you need a great lawyer .. . .
dont skimp and most of all - shop around . .
I went through two before I found what I needed . . and it cost me a bunch!

Ask lawyers whom they would go to if they were going through a nasty divorce with child custody issues . . just because someone is good at divorce doesn't mean they know shizzen about custody@!

I went through mine in NC, my initial attorney for the child support was state appointed through child support services (I was an FO and qualified for food stamps). he had no clue . . .so I shopped out someone recommended as a good overall family lawyer . . .she sucked and had no clue about a complex custody case nor child support law on that level . . good basic attorney but no idea how nasty folks get.

I asked for a continuance when my x wife wanted everything left and anything coming in after she had already soaked me in 60,000 in credit cards and loans without my knowledge and my kid's college fund.

I spent two days at the court house watching attorneys that were recommended . . . how they interacted with the judges, their peers and vice versa.

I picked the one with the brass ovaries that carried herself with poise and a big ole stick when needed!

Cost me 5 grand to retain, 750 to do the child support and and another 15 over the next 10 years to finally get custody in a state that does not give custody to men - esp airline pilots! . . worth every penny!


My first attorney had no clue how to relate the per diem, the real attorney understood how to relate it using the tax return as the basis for presenting the funds as non income . . you need that detail and that understanding that it is not income . . it is a reimbursement for money already spent and no where near what the actual CONUS is . . .so you are constantly on the loosing side of the equation!

get a good lawyer that Understands the law and your job or spend a lot of time prepping to explain how it works when you go in to see him.

Either way . . . dont skimp . . you get what you pay for - folks dont pay above market rate for mediocrity!

Per Diem is the least of your worries. Your visitation being messed with is abominable, so you need an Airline Pilot (or employee) Possession Order.

Also follow the advice in this article-
Top 25 mistakes airline pilots make in divorces

Best of luck to you.