I have all the documents necessary but he's better off with personal property that generates income abroad (very difficult to get documents about this although I brought ownership title and tax returns); the state where the divorce is being resolved is WV... I think your brother in law was ripped off! $1200 is nothing in CA, although in my case I have in my favor the long time married, 27 1/2 years... And what I'm asking is way less than 40% of his income: it's around 1/4 of his declared earnings, not his total income that's a little bit more (I know for experience...). And yes, he's paying for our son's last year college (I suppose with the $30,000 I paid him for ''our'' house back in our country, a very modest and small one, but still...)