Wife Demands Husband House But Refuses to Take the Debt

Farage, case number 254128 DO present in the virtual courtroom. We have both parties as well as our respective attorneys. Um that we're back here on the motions of the court um we began a couple weeks ago. Um and the we we adjourned um and asked uh the attorneys to um determine legally what the status of the injured spouse uh claim and and the procedure for that was and I guess Miss Wolram has has that answer been found? >> So I just forwarded the claim letter. The claim uh that came within the last two weeks. So the claim letter has come and it's been assigned a case number. The filing included the years 2017 through 2024, but um subsequently and my client did that on her own, but subsequently I did come to understand that 23 20 22 23 and 24 won't be included because those taxes haven't been filed yet. So, we would agree on that. Um uh I I don't know that there's a way to um like you there's no possible way for her to sign joint tax returns under the circumstances and maintain the innocent spouse claim for the same years. And I think the problem is and and this is not without um you know a lot of effort with um Mr. Block. So, no, you know, we we've tried, but I don't think there's any circumstances under which she can sign a joint return given the information that's that's known about the history of the business. And that ultimately leads to a house of cards because at least one of the years would entitle them to a substantial refund, which without that, Mr. Block's position is, of course, that my client should be penalized for not signing the joint return and getting them the the the refund, but she can't file the joint return when she doesn't have the information to truthfully sign it. And she can't sign it knowing she doesn't know what's like what substantiates the tax return and then also maintain an innocent spouse claim. So, it's it's the layers on and then the house of cards falls because then we're, you know, significantly farther from the equitable amount that the parties had agreed to when they can't meet those prerequisites like signing the tax return and getting the refund that they were counting on when they entered the the agreement. >> Okay. So, what is your proposed solution? >> I I've been working with Mr. Bruce with Mr. block and I know that he doesn't agree with this but my proposed solution is now that there is an innocent spouse claim that is pending there is a time frame given in the um letter I know it's not going to be pleasing to anybody but it's 240 days um I had suggested and we had worked out some kind of um you know thought to reserve that issue specifically for court but we don't it it is I don't know what a reason how we get the parties divorced and also reserve a substantial portion of their marital estate. And I do understand that's a problem, but I yeah, I don't know 100% what the solution is without both parties coming back to the table with something different. >> Mr. Block, >> not a tax lawyer. I know Miss Wolf isn't either, and I know the court uh this is not a tax court. I think we could go round and round the merrygo round for the next five years um on what to file, how to file it, who gets the kids, the the pendencies >> that there aren't any. This is a deal. >> Well, I mean for the uh you know tax. Yeah, >> I didn't say anything. >> No, we what we worked out an agreement. Um the defendant may not like it, but bottom line is we worked out an agreement. Uh the brief I filed in support shows that uh she could still file the innocent spouse uh uh in this matter. Um she can't file it for the 22, 23, and 24 or 22 and 23 cuz they haven't been filed yet. You filed along with the tax return. I don't know how to divorce the tax issue from the divorce case, but uh we must get these parties divorced. Um, I believe the defendant is stalling because she doesn't want to sell the marital home. Well, that's the only asset. The only way we're going to pay off these debts is if the house is sold. Um, in the agreement we worked out on March 23rd, she had 90 days from then to either refinance or sell the house. We're probably coming up here in a week or two on the 90 days from that March date. And I'm She hasn't sold it, obviously, hasn't listed it, has not for my knowledge, has not done anything to refinance it. Um, this if if your your honor allows this to go on, we could be here a year from now and be at the exact same place. Uh, innocent spouse, there is no innocent spouse here. Innocent spouse is for a stay-at-home mom or a stay-at-home dad that has nothing to do with the business. Um, you know, raising >> No, you put your hand down. you know, as a as a stay-at-home mom or a stay-at-home dad. No knowledge of the business. Um, this defendant worked intimately with this business for the last 13 years. There's no way she's going to get an innocent spouse claim. I think that's just uh pipe pipe dreams, if you will. And there's just no way that's going to be granted that I can I can see, especially because she was working at the clinic, the chiropractic clinic. I I would say one thing on that is that I did forward Mr. Block the um Miss Farage, please don't. But I did forward him information that was not um provided prior was new evidence that she found in her basement filing cabinets or whatever that she had looked for before but did not find. And it is at least according to her uh under her um uh what she can determine it is a forgery. So that's actually her signature. So prior to she had just been claiming that she didn't that he must have forged it because she never signed anything. Now she actually has the document with a signature that is clearly not hers. Um so there is >> I mean miss well from where this going to end? Are we going to be a year from now and she's saying I didn't sign the return for 2013? We're not in tax court. We need to get these parties divorced. Um I have two solutions for the court. One of them is sign the judgment. She the tax returns get filed, everybody that bills get paid, everybody moves on. Uh the only other option possible feasible option that I can think of judge is you sign the divorce and $100,000 you order the household $100,000 gets put in an escrow account with uh some firm that handles these tax kind of issues and then the parties can fight it out with them instead of here every being in front of your honor every two weeks about whether there was a forgery here or a forgery there. There were no forgeries. This is just simply I mean you know what's the latest I keep you know every what's what's the latest thing that Miss Ruiz defrage is going to make up next time I don't know I mean let's we case >> thank you miss wolf from what's your response to his option number two >> um >> I hadn't heard before >> I don't think that it's um so I guess it's two things one um I do think that there is an option regardless of having the household I mean the house having my client did talk about being able to finance and pay the levies which are attached to the house and the rest of the debt is not yet technically quantified, right? Like there's not a collection action or some some certain that we know is due. In fact, we've talked about the fact that perhaps things are still acrewing, which is not great. But the point is it's not as if we know a some certain amount that needs to be so therefore the house has to be sold. Um she doesn't, you know, have another place to live. So what could happen is that we finance just the definite levies that are against the house allow um the third party because I know that's an issue to get the third party off of the title um you know and reserve the asset like the house remains um you know we could make sure that the asset still you know would be able to be financed to pay off the debt and then she wouldn't be able to sell it or anything. That's sort of different than having cash in a trust but it's still an asset. It's still sitting there. Um she'd still be liable for it. it would still still be essentially a secured debt in the house like we do for lots of things. It's just that she's not going to be homeless in the process. So, I don't think that that we have to sell the property and put money in trust to make that plan work. But otherwise, in concept, I'm actually in support of it. The idea that we pay off the things that we know are due and then take the tax debt and actually separate that issue. I'm I'm not opposed to the a solution that looks like that. >> But you have the defendant living at the house, not paying the property taxes. judge. They were not paid for summer of last year. When >> it needs to be done, I agree. >> Okay. Uh well, I'm going to take this under advisement. I got to think about this. Um so, uh I will try to get something out in the next Well, I'm not going to be here next week, so it's going to be a couple weeks, but we've arrived. >> All right. Thank you. We're returned. >> Thank you, honor.