When a New Jersey working woman is required to pay her ex-husband alimony each week, she typically includes a humiliating message to let him know that she doesn’t respect him. Now, since the woman’s ex-husband claims that she wrote “loser” and “bum” and other such phrases in the memo line of her alimony checks, he is suing her for writing them.
Francis J. Wagner, Jr., a 61-year-old resident of New Jersey, wants his ex-wife to feel the same anguish and anguish that he feels every week when he receives alimony payments. She uses the memo line to insult him, therefore he claims her abuses are causing emotional and physical harm, and she owes him compensation for the harm. Every week, Wagner’s ex-wife sends him alimony checks worth approximately $186 and a few cents.
Meanwhile, Wagner’s former spouse believes his remarks are not worth a lawsuit.
“As far as I’m concerned, I can write anything I want on the memo line because it’s a note to myself,” Diane Wagner said. “I was the victim in that marriage. What more blood does he want from me? I pay him religiously.”
Both of them knew that their marriage would only last for a few more years before it fell apart due to the constant drinking binges by her husband, Richard. During their ten years together, Diane experienced many Wagner drunken episodes. Because he was so unreliable, except when it came to how much alcohol he drank, Diane filed for divorce and worked hard to distance herself from him as much as possible.
Because he accepted government handouts from Social Security and Disability Services, he was unable to pay for a divorce trial. She was compelled by the court to pay him $744 per month in spousal support for the first six years after their marriage came to an end because he couldn’t come up with enough money.
However, Diane’s life is not all sunshine and daisies. She is presently undergoing cancer therapy, which leaves her little money to purchase medications or pay Wagner’s alimony. Nonetheless, she continues to send payments to her ex-husband. She did file a request with the court to cut back on how much she pays him each month, but it was denied by those in authority.
One of her husband’s admirers posted a photo of one alimony payment to the Trautmann & Trautmann law firm’s Facebook page.
Next to a photo of one of Diane’s cheques, the caption read, “Alimony for the man!” “What’s funny is that the now ex-wife so hated paying our client — the husband — $800 per month for the next six years as alimony, and she had written Alimony/Adult Child Support in the memo of the weekly checks — until we put a stop to that harassment.”
Diane stated, “When I found out my personal business was on the Facebook page, that caused me distress.”
The legal firm subsequently sent her a cease and desist letter, which stated, in part:, “Please be advised that your writings are causing my client severe emotional distress and have led to him having sustained heart attacks in recent weeks.”
Do you think the former wife should be permitted to inscribe “loser” in her ex-husband’s alimony checks’ memo line?
