Family Law

Rhode Island Child Support is often a sticky issue when it comes time to do the numbers at court.  This is true whether the calculations are done by agreement as to the figures or whether they are achieved after a hearing on a motion to set child support or a motion for modification.

One thing you can do to help yourself out if you know the bank used by the opposing spouse or the mother or father of your minor child is to subpoena the records from his or her bank for a period of twelve months.  This will give you a good idea of his or her financial picture and whether or not any misrepresentations were made on the DR6 Statement of Assets and Liabilities form that is required to be filed in all family court matters.

Keep in mind that you're looking at a constable fee of perhaps $50 and a witness fee of about $12 to in order to get this done and some banks aren't always cooperative.  Bank of America, for instance, has a policy of notifying the account holder of any subpoenas for information before they will release it.   This sometimes conflicts with the production of the documents because a court date may come and go before the Bank will release the information.  This of course leaves you having spent your money on the effort and the subpoena only to be left holding the bag while the big bad bank defies state law.

If you can get the records they can be extremely helpful if you think the opposition is going to lie about their income to influence the Rhode Island child support that is to be paid.

Be aware of the benefits.  Be aware of this pitfall.   It's up to you as to whether to make the call to issue the subpoena for documents or not.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.