Missouri father's $20,000 bankruptcy deal leaves $12,970 debt to ex-wife

A Missouri man who claimed that a $20,000 bankruptcy settlement had cleared his financial obligations to his former wife has been told that he still owes $12,969.85. An appeals court has overturned a lower court's decision that he had fulfilled his payment obligations under an earlier contempt judgment. The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District delivered the ruling on November 10, in a dispute between Patricia K. Fish and her former husband, Brian D. Fish. The court found that the lower court had wrongly counted payments Brian made before the bankruptcy settlement while calculating what remained unpaid. The dispute dates back to the couple's 2014 divorce. Patricia received sole legal and physical custody of their minor children. Brian was directed to pay monthly child support and contribute towards their medical, dental and educational expenses. The divorce court also made Brian responsible for four civil lawsuits involving allegations that he had forged Patricia's signature on financial documents. The cases carried potential liabilities of at least $1.95 million. He was ordered to protect Patricia from any financial losses arising from them. How the debt reached $243,780 Patricia approached the court in 2016, alleging that Brian had failed to pay child support and his share of the children's expenses. She also accused him of violating their parenting plan and failing to protect her from the civil lawsuits. She said she had spent more than $200,000 defending herself and settling those cases. In November 2017, the trial court found Brian in contempt and calculated that he owed Patricia $243,780. This included $217,756.26 for expenses linked to the civil lawsuits, $6,563.53 in guardian ad litem fees, $4,460.37 for medical and dental expenses, and $15,000 in attorney's fees. The court directed Brian to pay $1,000 every month until the debt was cleared. An amended order in January 2019 retained this requirement and added conditions relating to employment updates, communication with Patricia and counselling for their child. Patricia continued seeking enforcement of the order, alleging that Brian had missed payments and failed to follow other directions. Both former spouses eventually became involved in bankruptcy proceedings. In October 2023, Brian asked the trial court to declare the contempt judgment satisfied. He argued that a $20,000 payment to Patricia's bankruptcy trustee in November 2022 had settled the debts covered by the $243,780 judgment. He also claimed to have paid $57,000 in monthly instalments. Patricia disputed his claim. She argued that some child support and children's expenses were exempt from the bankruptcy settlement and remained payable. Court finds father cannot count earlier payments twice The trial court accepted Brian's argument and ruled that he had cleared the contempt judgment. It counted his $57,000 in instalments and separately found that he owed just $450 in unpaid child support. Patricia challenged the decision, arguing that the court had incorrectly adjusted Brian's earlier payments against the remaining debt. The appeals court found that the $57,000 represented 57 monthly payments made between May 2018 and January 2023. However, the bankruptcy settlement took place on November 1, 2022. Therefore, $55,000 had been paid before the settlement and only $2,000 afterwards. The judges said the earlier $55,000 had already reduced Brian's debt before the bankruptcy arrangement. He could not use those payments again to clear amounts that remained outside the settlement. The court calculated that $1,006.32 of the earlier payments had gone towards the $4,460.37 in medical and dental expenses, leaving $3,354.05 unpaid. It also found that $3,384.20 had gone towards the original $15,000 attorney's fee award, leaving $11,615.80 outstanding. Together, the unpaid amounts came to $14,969.85. After deducting the $2,000 paid following the bankruptcy settlement, the court found that Brian still owed $12,969.85. $43,500 child support claim to be examined again The appeals court also addressed a separate bankruptcy document submitted by Patricia. It showed that $43,500 of her claims relating to child support and children's expenses had been treated as exempt from the bankruptcy settlement. The lower court had refused to consider the document because the copy submitted during the hearing did not carry the bankruptcy judge's signature. The appeals court said Patricia should have been allowed to submit a signed copy. However, it clarified that the exemption did not establish that Brian automatically owed $43,500. It only protected Patricia's right to pursue the claim and retain any money recovered. The actual amount due still had to be determined. Patricia had also alleged that Brian misrepresented his financial position during the bankruptcy proceedings to secure the settlement. The appeals court did not decide this issue, saying allegations of fraud before a bankruptcy court had to be addressed by that court. The judges also rejected Patricia's request to seek an arrest or commitment order in the present proceedings over Brian's alleged failure to follow non-financial conditions of the contempt judgment. They noted that the children had become adults and some requirements could no longer be fulfilled. However, Patricia remained free to pursue other legal remedies. The appeals court reversed the finding that Brian had purged his contempt and directed the lower court to record the outstanding $12,969.85. It also asked the court to reconsider a commitment order, examine Patricia's request for attorney's fees and determine any additional child support or children's expenses due before March 19, 2019. The separate order requiring Brian to pay $450 in unpaid child support was upheld.