Wife Threatened To Report Me To The FAA

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Confidentiality009

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Me and my wife are going through a nasty divorce and custody battle. Long story short I found some dirt on her that suggests she has a bank account in which she did not report to the court. This means I will have to potentially pay less in spousal support. When I presented this to her she threatened to call the FAA saying I’m suicidal (I’m not) and that I abuse drugs and alcohol (I don’t). This is her being spiteful that she won’t get more assets including the aircraft I own.

What can I do about this? Should I get a lawyer?
 
I'd say you need an attorney if she's hiding assets from you. You have to answer the other question yourself.
 
eman1200 said:
you're going through a divorce and you don't already have a lawyer?
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^ This.

You should have an attorney in a divorce. If custody is involved you definitely need an attorney, and a really good one; that's cheaper than the damage that could be done.
 
Let me rephrase. I have a divorce lawyer. He’s not familiar with the FAA. I meant, should I get an aviation lawyer should she try to slander me?
 
Your divorce attorney should be able to help. If he/she needs another attorney for some niche work they can pull in another attorney. It would be better that they pull in someone to work with unless they say otherwise.



Wayne
 
Confidentiality009 said:
Me and my wife are going through a nasty divorce and custody battle. Long story short I found some dirt on her that suggests she has a bank account in which she did not report to the court. This means I will have to potentially pay less in spousal support. When I presented this to her she threatened to call the FAA saying I’m suicidal (I’m not) and that I abuse drugs and alcohol (I don’t). This is her being spiteful that she won’t get more assets including the aircraft I own.

What can I do about this? Should I get a lawyer?
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Get drug and alcohol tests periodically until the divorce is finalized. Cheap insurance.
 
Confidentiality009 said:
Me and my wife are going through a nasty divorce and custody battle. Long story short I found some dirt on her that suggests she has a bank account in which she did not report to the court. This means I will have to potentially pay less in spousal support. When I presented this to her she threatened to call the FAA saying I’m suicidal (I’m not) and that I abuse drugs and alcohol (I don’t). This is her being spiteful that she won’t get more assets including the aircraft I own.

What can I do about this? Should I get a lawyer?
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So you find an account where she was hiding money, rather than keeping your mouth shut and letting your attorney catch her in a lie in front of a judge, you decide to call her and argue with her about it. You need to STFU and let your attorney do his job.
 
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Confidentiality009 said:
Me and my wife are going through a nasty divorce and custody battle. Long story short I found some dirt on her that suggests she has a bank account in which she did not report to the court. This means I will have to potentially pay less in spousal support. When I presented this to her she threatened to call the FAA saying I’m suicidal (I’m not) and that I abuse drugs and alcohol (I don’t). This is her being spiteful that she won’t get more assets including the aircraft I own.

What can I do about this? Should I get a lawyer?
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I don’t know crap but I would think that just her saying that you’re suicidal doesn’t really mean anything assuming you didn’t say any thing of the kind to a medical professional and you never had any medication/documentation for it. I know for a while there was common for disgruntled soon to be ex-wives to accuse the man of child abuse. I think after a while the courts got wise to that.
 
Daleandee said:
Isn't it "innocent until proven guilty?" I know, I know, ... just sayin' ... o_O
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No. With the FAA it definitely is not. Probably not a bad idea to consult with a FAA savvy attorney.
 
I think a harshly worded nastygram from the divorce lawyer pointing out the penalties for libel and slander, along with a bit of documentation showing motive, would nip this right in the bud.
 
Report her to the FAA first, for flying an aircraft out of annual, and lacking a functional transponder in B airspace.

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Confidentiality009 said:
Let me rephrase. I have a divorce lawyer. He’s not familiar with the FAA. I meant, should I get an aviation lawyer should she try to slander me?
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What did your lawyer suggest you do? You should do that. Or, if you don't think he's giving you good advice, you should replace him--with a different lawyer, not with a bunch of Internet pilots.
 
Also, false statements to the FAA is a felony. If you've taken verified drug tests periodically, you should have no problem showing that she made malicious false statements, which is really, REALLY going to hurt her in court.
 
Well, there’s the rub... who says you go to court? Accusation, results in crappy evaluation, you’re deemed suicidal, alcoholic, bipolar... you get door number three. SPECIAL ISSUANCE! It’s for safety. Flying is a privilege, not a right...

Seen it a number of times.
 
bflynn said:
Also, false statements to the FAA is a felony. If you've taken verified drug tests periodically, you should have no problem showing that she made malicious false statements, which is really, REALLY going to hurt her in court.
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The problem is the FAA will not reveal who made the complaint.
 
Tools said:
Well, there’s the rub... who says you go to court? Accusation, results in crappy evaluation, you’re deemed suicidal, alcoholic, bipolar... you get door number three. SPECIAL ISSUANCE! It’s for safety. Flying is a privilege, not a right...

Seen it a number of times.
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He'll for sure be going to court in his divorce. And his wife's lawyer will definitely be advising her not to do this for that reason at least. Of course no one here knows what the facts are or what else has transpired.
 
Is this an empty threat, or are you worried she may actually have something potentially concrete that she could use..? Such as a video of you hammered at a party, or some sad texts from a while back, etc.? That could still potentially be blackmail vs extortion/slander etc, but .. it makes things more complicated for you

As noted above, if it's an empty threat that's a felony. If it's a genuine threat, you need to really consult with a smart lawyer on your options. Either way, these are best questions for legal experts.
 
weilke said:
Why are you talking to your ex-wife ?
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THAT. stop talking to her. all communication should go via your attorney to hers. talking to her at this phase is just inviting more trouble. ask me how i know it.

about the FAA threat. unless she can prove it, its empty threat. if she falsely report you, there are implications (i would think). in any case, step 0 - stop talking to her
 
This is gonna get nasty if she does say something. BTW, hiding assets in a divorce is way too common, my old boss did that. And got caught.
 
Clip4 said:
So you find an account where she was hiding money, rather than keeping your mouth shut and letting your attorney catch her in a lie in front of a judge, you decide to call her and argue with her about it. You need to STFU and let your attorney do his job.
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This.

I mean really. STFU. Do not call her, do not text her. If you have kids, have your parents or hers be the intermediary for visitation.

First advice when found in a hole, quit digging.

Take her threat seriously, she has already "lied to the court" if she submitted financial paperwork and hid assets. Her making claims to the FAA is just around the corner. Make sure your claim above is documented, and have your attorney handle it from here.

Would you let your attorney fly your plane? No.

Then quit trying to be a lawyer and let him do his job and keep your mouth shut.


I have a feeling that none of this advice will be heeded. I got divorced, my lawyer sat me down and told me to shut up. He wasn't even nice about it (he was a friend). I didn't listen, ended up costing me a lot of money and time. For about a decade after the divorce and custody battle were over, he would send me postcards from his condo in the BVI's every winter.

All that was written on the postcard was "THANKS!!!"

I was in court one day fighting over something little, can't remember exactly what it was about. I had him, the child psychologist and a paralegal there. We were nearly through the custody battle, and I wanted to fight over something little that day.

He grabbed me by my shirt collar and drug me to the hallway and dog cussed me. He said this is costing you $1,200 an hour and you are fighting over loose change. Get your act together.
 
WannFly said:
THAT. stop talking to her. all communication should go via your attorney to hers. talking to her at this phase is just inviting more trouble. ask me how i know it.
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Attorney-attorney for all legal things. He mentions there is a custody aspect and there may be logistical issues that need to be communicated between the combatants. But there is no reason to do that in person or verbally ever. Don't use the kids as go-between, that just effs them up more.
 
I think the OP's real question here and one I'm now curious about is how does the FAA handle such reports?

I'd like to think they're not just going to revoke someone privileges or demand a bunch of out of pocket tests over some random person's unsubstantiated claims, but I'm not sure that's the case.
 
cowman said:
I think the OP's real question here and one I'm now curious about is how does the FAA handle such reports?

I'd like to think they're not just going to revoke someone privileges or demand a bunch of out of pocket tests over some random person's unsubstantiated claims, but I'm not sure that's the case.
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If they were to revoke, pretty much any pilot with an enemy could have someone call with an anonymous tip to ground a pilot. Would be an easy extortion scheme. I got to believe the FAA needs hard evidence first.
 
cowman said:
I think the OP's real question here and one I'm now curious about is how does the FAA handle such reports?

I'd like to think they're not just going to revoke someone privileges or demand a bunch of out of pocket tests over some random person's unsubstantiated claims, but I'm not sure that's the case.
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In general, isn’t the FAA most interested in info about an airman if that info includes some investigative input or involvement from an authority, like a judge or a doctor?

For example … if a pilot gets convicted for drunk driving, or has a driving license suspension, there’s the authority of law enforcement and the judicial system. The FAA is particularly concerned about alcohol, but it cannot track everything pilots drink, so it uses “motor vehicle actions” as a way to detect alcohol abuse, because there are authorities involved.

Hearsay (My ex, Bob, is a drunk!) transmitted from an individual directly to the FAA would seem to lack any authentication by an authority.
 
NoHeat said:
In general, isn’t the FAA most interested in info about an airman if that info includes some investigative input or involvement from an authority, like a judge or a doctor?

For example … if a pilot gets convicted for drunk driving, or has a driving license suspension, there’s the authority of law enforcement and the judicial system. The FAA is particularly concerned about alcohol, but it cannot track everything pilots drink, so it uses “motor vehicle actions” as a way to detect alcohol abuse, because there are authorities involved.

Hearsay (My ex, Bob, is a drunk!) transmitted from an individual directly to the FAA would seem to lack any authentication by an authority.
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From the medical I just took, I recall seeing it asked if you were ARRESTED, as in even if you were found completely innocent you would still have to report it.

From reading here, I think if his wife called the FAA on him, I wouldn’t be surprised if they required all sorts of testing for him to prove his innocence beyond any reasonable doubt.

From my limited knowledge, have his lawyer talk to her lawyer and let him know that they would file suit if she made such a obvious fraudulent claim, remind the other layer how the FAA operates and how much money and stress (damages) her big mouth would cause the husband, and the ramification for her causing those damages. Wouldn’t her lawyer also have to report this to the court, if he knew she was planning on committing a crime (fraudulent statement to a federal agency)?
 
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A guy I used to work with had the same situation with the ex telling the FAA he was suicidal. He now, unfortunately, can brag that the FAA officially considers him sane. :(

Get a good aviation attorney.
 
NoHeat said:
Hearsay (My ex, Bob, is a drunk!) transmitted from an individual directly to the FAA would seem to lack any authentication by an authority.
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Yes, and you'd think that someone accused of giving flight instruction without a certificate based on a joke would lack authentication too. But the FAA must investigate each case.

I believe in the OP's case, my first response would be to explain the threat and ask if she is the one who did it...because it's false. Then I would be calling my lawyer and giving him the ammunition she so thoughtfully supplied.
 
Lachlan said:
I hope we never meet. Every pilot you know, and you know a LOT of them (it seems), has been screwed over, ruined, sent through HIMS …
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bflynn said:
Yes, and you'd think that someone accused of giving flight instruction without a certificate based on a joke would lack authentication too. But the FAA must investigate each case.

I believe in the OP's case, my first response would be to explain the threat and ask if she is the one who did it...because it's false. Then I would be calling my lawyer and giving him the ammunition she so thoughtfully supplied.
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It might also be useful to have his attorney call the exes attorney and point out the penalty for perjury for his ex wife. The threat of bracelets that connect often works some magic.
 
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