Why Isn’t There Enough Money There?
‘Really?!?’ writes:
The documentation presented implies that right now, today, the family is the recipient of $11,000 a month in monthly support drawn upon the accounts in the names of the unmarried children. Is this true? Doesn’t this satisfy court ordered child support? Why is R’ Avraham (did I read correctly?) out of the country and unable to see his children. Is there a court order stating he must stay away from his children? Are armed guards around his children that prevent his seeing the children?
We respond:
We appreciate your raising this valid point, as others may have been bothered by this seeming contradiction too.
The answer is simple. Money or assets put in a child’s name as a tax shelter cannot be used by a parent to support that child. The court is permitting it, since R’ Avrohom has been divested of all his assets and there is no other means of supporting the children. But he is not considered having fulfilled his child support obligation since the money was legally considered as the children’s.
In layman’s terms: Even though the children are being supported by the over 3 million dollars that R’ Avrohom put in their name, he is still (legally) obligated to go to work to support them.
Perhaps this also clarifies why Mrs. Ort prefers the legal system over (l’havdil) the Bais Din system.
As to a court order stating that he stay away from his children, no, there is not. On the contrary, he still maintains joint legal custody of the children with Mrs. Ort (see court orders below). Unfortunately, the false impressions such as his having left them without “bread on the table” and many other such untruths are more effective in estranging them than “an armed guard”. When this entire matter is settled properly in a Bais Din, this too will be addressed and we hope to be zoche to vheshiv lev banim al avos.
Sincerely, A Pushita Yid
Court Orders granting legal custody of children jointly to Rabbi and Mrs. Ort:
