Chapter 9 - What the divorce missed
My divorce settlement with Mike had been finalized eleven months earlier.
House equity.
Retirement.
Investment accounts.
Vehicles.
Debt.
No spousal support.
Mike kept his consulting company.
I kept my retirement and brokerage assets.
Daniel was not legally Mike’s child, so no child-support issue.
Straightforward.
Or so I thought.
Rebecca told me about the monthly transfers to her.
That alone did not mean my divorce settlement could automatically be reopened.
People spend marital money on many things.
But a separate account mattered.
Mike had maintained a checking account at another bank.
Used for:
Molly support.
Gifts.
Travel.
Payments to Rebecca.
During our divorce disclosures, Mike had listed it?
I checked.
No.
Balance at separation?
Rebecca did not know.
My attorney subpoenaed records after we had a proper basis to investigate.
The account had approximately $48,600 on the date our financial disclosure closed.
It should have been disclosed.
There were also approximately $63,000 in transfers and expenditures over the final three years of our marriage connected to Rebecca and Molly.
Some of that was legitimate support for Mike’s child.
Morally, I did not want Molly deprived.
Legally, the issue was concealment and marital property.
Rebecca Sloan said:
“Do not call all sixty-three thousand dissipation.”
“I didn’t.”
“You were about to.”
I hated how well she knew me.
“Supporting his child is not equivalent to buying an affair partner a yacht.”
“No yacht?”
“No.”
Good.
Records showed:
Childcare.
Medical reimbursement.
Rent assistance during Rebecca’s temporary unemployment.
Birthday expenses.
Travel.
Some dinners and hotel stays likely personal to Mike and Rebecca.
Mixed.
Messy.
The strongest issue was the undisclosed account itself.
We filed a motion seeking relief related to incomplete financial disclosure.
No automatic jackpot.
No fraud indictment.
Civil family-law process.
Again:
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