MY EX HAS LIED IN HER AFFIDAVIT ABOUT HER INCOME - HOW TO PROCEED?

NotaBene12

We married & had a child in the UK, then we moved to another country. After a while we divorced there. The court defined a child maintenance which was adequate for that country considering my and her income there. I was paying it regularly for years and on top was paying various other expenses. 

My ex decided to move back to the UK for better career prospects and asked for my permission to take our son there. She said it's going to be just for a year or two as she wanted to get exposure to a particular industry which she said is going to enable her to come back to that country and command a higher salary.

I was a bit reluctant as this would mean less contact to my child but what made me change my mind was that my child may benefit from exposure to another country.

She moved to the UK and got a much better salary. I continued paying the maintenance as stipulated in our divorce and on top of that was having expenses related to travelling regularly to the UK to see my son.

2 years later it seems that she, actually, wants to stay longer. Or maybe that was her intention all along - I don't know. I stupidly didn't formalise the agreement and put any time constraints.

The worst came only recently - she applied to the court in the UK to get a much higher child mantenance as she says that her expenses in the UK are higher than in the other country. Which they probably are but her salary is even higher than it used to be there.

The thing that caught my attention was that she has, actually, lied in her affidavit when describing her income.

First, she didn't list the bonus that she would be normally entitled to (which may be up to 30% annual salary).

But the worst is that she didn't mention that she receives income from renting 2 properties outside of the UK. I know she does this as she has mentioned this in conversations. But I don't have any proof. I doubt that she has listed this income in her UK tax return. I also doubt that she has declared it in a tax return abroad. The only proof I have is that she owns one of these properties. Can I somehow prove that she has lied about her income? I know the address of that property and can make a pic that the light is on in the evening. But would this be sufficient? This is important not just to establish her true income but also to establish that she has committed a perjury.

theoretica

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

NotaBene12

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

superstylin

NotaBene12 said:

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

What do you hope to get out of 'proving her perjury'? 

MalMonroe

NotaBene12 said:

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

I'm wondering the same as superstylin, above. 

Why would you want to waste time trying to prove anyone's perjury?

All will be discovered, eventually. It's not really your place to prove anything here. As long as you feel that the maintenance you are asked to pay is fair. 

I'm a woman but if I were in your shoes I'd not want the person who was caring for my child to end up in hot water for any reason. And I'd be glad, rather than disgruntled, if her income was such that she could give my child a very good standard of living.

I'd also want to start some proceedings (would have started them before she left) to ensure that I was able to see my child more often - he won't be a child for long and in the future you may regret that you did not make solid arrangements to spend more time with him. (Also, speaking as a woman, I would not have trusted her to take my child away to a different country and then return him at any verbally agreed time. Talk is cheap, sadly.)

NotaBene12

superstylin said:

NotaBene12 said:

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

What do you hope to get out of 'proving her perjury'? 

It's simple. If perjury is proven her career in the UK is over - at least in the industry she is in as it would be a "crime of dishonesty".

Which means that she would need to move back and I will get to see my son a lot more often. As a dad of a young child I can't wish for anything else.

NotaBene12

MalMonroe said:

NotaBene12 said:

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

I'm wondering the same as superstylin, above. 

Why would you want to waste time trying to prove anyone's perjury?

All will be discovered, eventually. It's not really your place to prove anything here. As long as you feel that the maintenance you are asked to pay is fair. 

I'm a woman but if I were in your shoes I'd not want the person who was caring for my child to end up in hot water for any reason. And I'd be glad, rather than disgruntled, if her income was such that she could give my child a very good standard of living.

I'd also want to start some proceedings (would have started them before she left) to ensure that I was able to see my child more often - he won't be a child for long and in the future you may regret that you did not make solid arrangements to spend more time with him. (Also, speaking as a woman, I would not have trusted her to take my child away to a different country and then return him at any verbally agreed time. Talk is cheap, sadly.)

Agree on all counts.

I answered your main question in a previous post - a perjury means that her career in the UK is over for at least a year (in her case the most she would get is a fine and this won't stay in the DBS certificate for more than 1 year). Which means that she would need to come back and I will get to see my son a lot more often.

Don't get me wrong - there is no spite or desire for vengeance on my part. She lied a lot over the years and continues to do so. She cancels agreements about visits on a short notice and does other mean stuff. It is very frustrating as I still need to deal with her but I can only be angry at myself for having such a bad judgement when I first met her. So, yes, absolutely - I wish that she has high income. I just don't want it to be at the expense of me having less time with my son.

superstylin

NotaBene12 said:

superstylin said:

NotaBene12 said:

theoretica said:

Have you run *your* income through the child maintenance estimator?  https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Yes, I did. I actually doubt that she would succeed in getting a much higher maintenance alone because of that.

But to me proving her perjury is important.

What do you hope to get out of 'proving her perjury'? 

It's simple. If perjury is proven her career in the UK is over - at least in the industry she is in as it would be a "crime of dishonesty".

Which means that she would need to move back and I will get to see my son a lot more often. As a dad of a young child I can't wish for anything else.

I can of course understand you wanting to see your son more, but it's my opinion that this is the wrong way to do it. If you follow this path and destroy her career then you risk never seeing your child again as she will certainly hold it against you. And if you only managed to damage her career, meaning she ended up on a lower salaried job, then ultimately it would be your son who suffered as she is the main carer and would not be able to afford him the things she has done previously. 

tightauldgit

NotaBene12 said:

We married & had a child in the UK, then we moved to another country. After a while we divorced there. The court defined a child maintenance which was adequate for that country considering my and her income there. I was paying it regularly for years and on top was paying various other expenses. 

My ex decided to move back to the UK for better career prospects and asked for my permission to take our son there. She said it's going to be just for a year or two as she wanted to get exposure to a particular industry which she said is going to enable her to come back to that country and command a higher salary.

I was a bit reluctant as this would mean less contact to my child but what made me change my mind was that my child may benefit from exposure to another country.

She moved to the UK and got a much better salary. I continued paying the maintenance as stipulated in our divorce and on top of that was having expenses related to travelling regularly to the UK to see my son.

2 years later it seems that she, actually, wants to stay longer. Or maybe that was her intention all along - I don't know. I stupidly didn't formalise the agreement and put any time constraints.

The worst came only recently - she applied to the court in the UK to get a much higher child mantenance as she says that her expenses in the UK are higher than in the other country. Which they probably are but her salary is even higher than it used to be there.

The thing that caught my attention was that she has, actually, lied in her affidavit when describing her income.

First, she didn't list the bonus that she would be normally entitled to (which may be up to 30% annual salary).

But the worst is that she didn't mention that she receives income from renting 2 properties outside of the UK. I know she does this as she has mentioned this in conversations. But I don't have any proof. I doubt that she has listed this income in her UK tax return. I also doubt that she has declared it in a tax return abroad. The only proof I have is that she owns one of these properties. Can I somehow prove that she has lied about her income? I know the address of that property and can make a pic that the light is on in the evening. But would this be sufficient? This is important not just to establish her true income but also to establish that she has committed a perjury.

When you say 'she applied to the court' what exactly do you mean? The normal route for Child Maintenance claims in the UK is to go through the Child Maintenance Service and for them the income of the resident parent is immaterial only the income of the non-resident parent matters. I believe the process is the same for all UK resident kids, even if a parent lives abroad, although it may have to be enforced by a local court. 

That being the case what precisely has she applied for and who to? I believe courts don't really make child maintenance orders anymore.

As for the perjury claim, i'd say it's 99% certain you won't get a charge brought, let alone a conviction and all you will do is ruin whatever relationship remains with your ex partner. 

NotaBene12

@superstylin This is BS. She cannot deprive me of the opportunity to see my son - it would be against the law. Also, she cannot hold me responsible for exposing that *she lied under oath*. If you don't want to get exposed and harm your career just don't lie - or, at least, don't lie under oath.

In any case, if, indeed, a perjury is proven it may not harm her career in the UK for too long as in her case it would be just a fine. AFAIK, this won't stay in the DBS certificate for more than 1 year. However, this would force her to go back to the country where we used to live and where she has properties (so won't need to pay rent in the UK). And there she can pursue a career - and she was successful in it as her last salary was 2 times higher than the average salary for that country. So, no, she won't experience lasting harm from this.

NotaBene12

@tightauldgit

She filed in court as she seeks not just higher maintenance but also a residence order. The previous residence order of the foreign court stipulated that the residence of our son is in that other country. She seeks to overturn it. I find I have little chance in stopping her doing this but I would, at least, seek some sort of shared residence (e.g. my son spending his out-of-school time with me abroad).