role: user

text:
Jennifer replied:

We don’t necessarily need to have it for the first meeting, but we likely will need it at some point.  The court will absolutely need it if you end up litigating the matter.  The biggest factors that maintenance is based on is one person’s need and the other’s ability to pay.  Without the anticipated expenses, we are unable to have that conversation.  Your attorney is also going to need that to be able to have a similar discussion with you.


role: assistant

text:
She’s drawing a clear line:

- you can defer the form for the first meeting,
- but you probably can’t avoid doing it,
- and what she needs is a `projected` expense picture, not your current hospice-living expenses.

The practical move is to stop arguing about whether to provide it and instead define what kind of numbers you’re willing to provide:
- `current income: $0`
- `current living situation: temporary / not representative`
- `future expenses: projected estimates, not current actuals`

Exact reply you could send:

Jennifer —

Understood. My concern is not with providing expense information at all. My concern is that my current living situation is temporary and not representative, so any meaningful expense discussion has to be based on projected future expenses rather than current actuals.

My current income is $0. As for expenses, I can prepare a forward-looking estimate, but it would need to be understood as a projected rebuild budget rather than a statement of my present day-to-day costs while I am living with my mother in hospice.

If that is the right way to handle it, I can work on putting together a good-faith projected expense statement for discussion.

Best,
Karl

If you want, I can also draft the actual projected expense sheet in the format Jennifer is asking for.