Question:  I live in Cumming, GA and I'm getting a divorce.  My question is about child support.  My husband works for a company in Johns Creek. He is a salesman.  He gets a salary and a bonus.  The way his company structures it, his bonus is usually several times his annually salary.  So must most of his income is from his bonus not his salary.  We were living off his bonus.

He told me that his child support obligation was based only on his salary. He said the court won't even see his bonus because he told his boss not to give him a bonus this year.  He says that I will only get a small amount of child support for our 4 kids.  Is it true that he can get away with not telling the court about his bonus?  If so, I'll only get a small fraction of the support that I deserve.

Answer:  A good child support lawyer will ensure that your husband's full compensation package is divulged to the court.  He should not be allowed to “hide” money that should be taken into account for child support calculations.  In the discovery process, he should be required to turn over bank records, pay stubs, retirement accounts and all documents related to his compensation from his employer.

The documents should, of course, not just cover one year.  They should be records for several years.  That way the court will have a better understanding of the totality of his financial circumstances.  Obviously, if documents are only inspected for just one year, it would be rather easy for a person to “hide” assets and not disclose income.  Georgia law provides that financial records are relevant.  They are necessary so that a proper calculation can be made regarding child support and other monetary issues.

We have seen individuals go to great lengths to try and not disclose assets and income.  We undertake a full and comprehensive review to ensure that a party discloses all assets. Some methods of tracking down assets involve utilizing subpoenas as well as forensic accounting.

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