In Re Marriage of Economou discusses the circumstances in which support may be retroactive beyond the time of filing, and it discusses the circumstances in which a stipulation and order may be set aside.
The parties in this case had substantial assets. Many of the assets were hidden from the wife. During the divorce proceedings, the wife made numerous discovery requests. The husband ignored those requests. The wife also filed for temporary spousal support and child support. After she filed a request for support, the parties stipulated to both child support and spousal support and the court ordered support. As a condition of settlement of the spousal support and child support, the husband promised that he would provide accurate information in respect to his assets. He never provided them. Later on, the court found that the stipulation and order for support were based on fraudulent information in that the husband induced the wife to sign by promising to comply with discovery. Even though no motion for support was pending, the court modified support retroactive to the time that the wife originally filed for temporary support. The husband appealed the order.
The appellate court upheld the order stating that the husband’s fraudulent conduct led the court to set aside the fraudulently induced stipulations. A stipulation may be set aside when special circumstances render it unjust to enforce. In addition, even though the law prohibits a support order from modificaiton when no motion is pending, in this circumstance it was just.
If you need legal advice and are looking for a family law lawyer in Orange County to address a dissolution issue such as retroactivity of support or any other divorce matter such as legal separation, child support, restraining orders, custody, spousal support and/or property division, please consider Treviño Law in your divorce attorney search. We are located in Laguna Hills right off Lake Forest exit to both the 405 and 5 freeway.
Although the posting of this information can be considered free legal advice for a divorce in Orange County, it does not address other factors which may play a significant role in a particular dissolution. Circumstances in your divorce may alter the results in your dissolution.
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