Missouri court says father still owes ex-wife $12,969 despite bankruptcy deal.
A Missouri man who claimed that a $20,000 bankruptcy settlement had cleared his financial obligations to his former wife has been told that he still owes $12,969.85.
An appeals court has overturned a lower court’s decision that he had fulfilled his payment obligations under an earlier contempt judgment.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District delivered the ruling on November 10, in a dispute between Patricia K. The dispute dates back to the couple’s 2014 divorce. The cases carried potential liabilities of at least $1.95 million. Patricia approached the court in 2016, alleging that Brian had failed to pay child support and his share of the children’s expenses. She said she had spent more than $200,000 defending herself and settling those cases. It showed that $43,500 of her claims relating to child support and children’s expenses had been treated as exempt from the bankruptcy settlement. The appeals court reversed the finding that Brian had purged his contempt and directed the lower court to record the outstanding $12,969.85. It also asked the court to reconsider a commitment order, examine Patricia’s request for attorney’s fees and determine any additional child support or children’s expenses due before March 19, 2019. The separate order requiring Brian to pay $450 in unpaid child support was upheld.
Fish and her former husband, Brian D. Fish. Patricia received sole legal and physical custody of their minor children. Brian was directed to pay monthly child support and contribute towards their medical, dental and educational expenses. The divorce court also made Brian responsible for four civil lawsuits involving allegations that he had forged Patricia’s signature on financial documents. He was ordered to protect Patricia from any financial losses arising from them. She also accused him of violating their parenting plan and failing to protect her from the civil lawsuits. The appeals court also addressed a separate bankruptcy document submitted by Patricia.
The court found that the lower court had wrongly counted payments Brian made before the bankruptcy settlement while calculating what remained unpaid.