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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Has anyone mandated a notification period or protocol for work travel in their divorce settlement?

I’m currently in divorce proceedings initiated by a spouse who travels frequently for work and on an unpredictable schedule. In other words, it’s not like he is gone M-Th every week or every first week of the month. His travel can be anywhere from an overnight trip mid-week to a 10 day trip overseas that requires weekend flights on either end.

During our marriage, he was often slow to tell me about work travel. During divorce, the discovery process has revealed that many of his “last-minute” trips were confirmed months before. For example, trips were booked for 2-3 months that would include weekends away or impact our visitation schedule, but he told me only days before that “a trip had come up”, necessitating rescheduling kids’ time with him or them not seeing him at all that week.

This pattern of communication and travel planning has obviously impacted our kids’ schedules and ability to plan time with him, as well as my ability to plan my work schedule.

To complicate things, STBX is asking for 50/50 custody but right now only makes time for the kids ~1 day/weekend if he is in town. I’ve been informed that if we go to trial it’s possible that he would be granted 50/50 regardless of his current travel patterns and that modification might only happen after he repeatedly failed to uphold his end of that arrangement, which could take months or years. [b]I would like to pre-empt that if I can since I am trying to become financially independent and rebuild my career to support my family on one income.[/b]

Does anyone have experience building in a legal framework to mandate communication and advance planning around travel? Obviously it’s something my attorney is working on with me but I would appreciate hearing real-world examples of how people deal with this. I can’t be the only one in this situation but it feels like I am.[/quote]

Actually, it sounds to me like you angling to maximize child support. [/quote]

That’s not how child support works.[/quote]

It's EXACTLY how child support works. The formula is heavily dependent on how much physical custody you have.

The game some couples play is women scheme to get 100% physical custody because they want as much child support as they can get. The flip side is men will demand 50/50 even though they may not actually do it. In some particularly extreme cases, men will even try to get 100% so as to not owe any custody or even receive it. These are not people who love their children, of course. [/quote]

Sure those scenarios can happen. But I think it is much more likely that women give up some child support in order to get the custody arrangement they think is best for their kid. I know I did. I’m thankful that I can afford to go without it but I don’t dare say a word about child support or xDH will demand to get his “fair share” of custody. [/quote]

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