His ex-wife came begging me to reduce the payment: "My kid needs to go to school, and Ian's surgery cost tens of thousands. We really can't afford this."

I gave her a cold look: "I know you have $500,000 in savings. Stop playing poor with me. Keep it up, and I'll take you back to court, get you blacklisted for debt. Then Ian can't even do his reselling business."

This time her apology seemed sincere, completely humbling herself. I couldn't help but comment: "Ian's ...