Missouri court says father still owes ex-wife $12,969 despite $20,000 bankruptcy deal

NewsWorld NewsUS NewsA Missouri father argued a $20,000 bankruptcy deal erased $243,780 he owed his ex-wife after their divorce; a November 10 appeals court found $12,969.85 still due and revived a separate child-support dispute A Missouri father argued a $20,000 bankruptcy deal erased $243,780 he owed his ex-wife after their divorce; a November 10 appeals court found $12,969.85 still due and revived a separate child-support dispute 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.

Fish and her former husband, Brian D. Fish. The court found that the lower court had wrongly counted payments Brian made before the bankruptcy settlement while calculating what remained unpaid.The dispute dates back to the couple's 2014 divorce.

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.

The cases carried potential liabilities of at least $1.95 million. He was ordered to protect Patricia from any financial losses arising from them. The trial court accepted Brian's argument and ruled that he had cleared the contempt judgment.

It counted his $57,000 in instalments and separately found that he owed just $450 in unpaid child support.Patricia challenged the decision, arguing that the court had incorrectly adjusted Brian's earlier payments against the remaining debt.The appeals court found that the $57,000 represented 57 monthly payments made between May 2018 and January 2023.

However, the bankruptcy settlement took place on November 1, 2022. Therefore, $55,000 had been paid before the settlement and only $2,000 afterwards.The judges said the earlier $55,000 had already reduced Brian's debt before the bankruptcy arrangement.

He could not use those payments again to clear amounts that remained outside the settlement.The court calculated that $1,006.32 of the earlier payments had gone towards the $4,460.37 in medical and dental expenses, leaving $3,354.05 unpaid.It also found that $3,384.20 had gone towards the original $15,000 attorney's fee award, leaving $11,615.80 outstanding.Together, the unpaid amounts came to $14,969.85.

After deducting the $2,000 paid following the bankruptcy settlement, the court found that Brian still owed $12,969.85.$43,500 child support claim to be examined again The appeals court also addressed a separate bankruptcy document submitted by Patricia.

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 lower court had refused to consider the document because the copy submitted during the hearing did not carry the bankruptcy judge's signature.

The appeals court said Patricia should have been allowed to submit a signed copy.However, it clarified that the exemption did not establish that Brian automatically owed $43,500. It only protected Patricia's right to pursue the claim and retain any money recovered.

The actual amount due still had to be determined.Patricia had also alleged that Brian misrepresented his financial position during the bankruptcy proceedings to secure the settlement. The appeals court did not decide this issue, saying allegations of fraud before a bankruptcy court had to be addressed by that court.Join conversation You use AI every day.

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