Jul
1
Child support calculations?
Filed Under Rental Car
Situation:
My husband has 2 children = a 2 yr old with me and a 10 yr old with the ex-girlfriend. He is not court ordered, but direct deposits $100/week into her account. My step-son is homeschooled, and she may be using this as an excuse to stay home, as she openly states that she hates to work. We have no legal documentation of his educational status, but fear he is not doing as well as he should be. She uses this child support and her live-in boyfriend’s income to pay for expenses. With a mortgage (comparible to rental rates), car note, gas, groceries, med insurance, home insurance, auto insurance, etc, etc,….you get the idea…..it’s very difficult to afford everything while having to afford two children, especially when my step-son doesn’t live with us. He lives 1 1/2 hrs away, but we get him anytime we want. How can we calculate legal child support (without going thru courts) that will take into account our 2 yr. old and our living expenses? We’re having expense trouble.
Why doesn’t she have to work to support my step-son too?
Don’t get me wrong, please! I love my step-son. I just wish he lived with us. I don’t think he’s in a bad situation. His mom IS a nice woman. I just think he’s not in the best situation. She keeps him in the house all day. She says she’s afraid of failure, and this line of thinking is crossing over to him. Before I had our son (things happen), my step-son was all the children I ever wanted to have. I love him. Just remember, we support him with more than just the child support…..we provide a room here for him, clothes, 1/2 of his homeschool supplies, health insurance, etc. I’m just trying to figure things out. This came about due to health insurance expenses (thru work). I’m deciding not to be covered so we can afford to just have my husband and the children on it. Trust me everything comes back around to the kids in the end. Please, don’t say,shame on you. My heart is with our 2 children.
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12 Responses to “Child support calculations?”
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Im going to be real with you and tell you if you go to the courts or start calcualting on that level then more than likely your husband will owe more per week, its like a certain percentage and since thats his only child out of the house its the only one thought about, basicly your child means squat to the system bc he lives in the home. Your getting a good deal now. Judges dont care about struggling fathers and stepmothers. Sorry to say its just not something thats really taken into account unless your husbands giving her 75-100% of your incomes and i doubt that 400 a month is, let this one go unless your ready to face the courts head on and they just dont tend to side with men.
Why not go through the courts? That way, she can’t screw you guys over, either.
If he couldn’t afford his ten year old and the arrangements he had already made with the ex, he shouldn’t have had another baby with you. He’s a father to both. I’m sure he contributes more than 400 dollars a month to the care of YOUR child, and it doesn’t matter what Mom’s boyfriend makes- it’s not HIS responsibility.
If you have issues with the schooling, ask for some documentation of how he’s doing. Even homeschooled kids get tested by the state periodically. Mom has to show you this.
Otherwise, go through the state or he needs to stick to his original agreement.
It based on a number of things, first off his income. If he doesn’t make much, it might be better to go through the courts. Depends, though. Once you open that can of worms, you can’t go back.
1. Go back to court and ask that a child support order be entered. However, before you do that – check your state’s child support charts. It might be possible that in your state that would actually be MORE than the $400 he is now paying.
2. He does need to stop making direct deposits to her account unless he has the documentation to prove he has been doing this. I would hate for her to come back years from now and claim he has never paid support.
3.The child’s school status or the mother’s work history has no bearing on child support. Under the law, child support has no restrictions as to how it is being used.
4. If you are truly concerned about his progress, have your husband check with the local school district to see if he is enrolled. Most states require that all home-schooled children register with the district or state they reside in so that their progress can be monitored and so they can help supervise the curriculum being used. If she has failed to do this, they might order him enrolled in school.
Each state has its own formula. In my state, child support in that situation would be 18 percent of hubbies monthly income. That is adjusted slightly for various factors but not much. The obligation to support a child is generally NOT adjusted for expenses of the father’s chosen life style. If meeting the obligation to a child means living under a bridge and eating from dumptsters, that is what parents do.
Going to court is the only way to determine it without it coming back to possibly hurt him. However, you appear to think that how she schools him should save your husband money, but the court will not agree with your assesment that it is your right to tell his ex what she should or should not be doing. Your financial needs will not be taken into account either, only the needs of the 2 children and the responsibility of the father to them.
She is working to support him, within the home. By your own account, she is also homeschooling him. A job she is not under law required to do.
I’m sure depending on the state the child resides in, there is a family court division, which in turn can give you that calulation over the phone. Usually at a self help center. The other answer is probably right. You might owe more. That’s what happened to my ex-husband. He decided to take me to court and is turn I found out he wasn’t paying me enough and the judge up’d the amount by $270 per child per month. Surprise Surprise!
The courts use a percentage of gross income of the father to determine the child support. They don’t care about expenses. $100 a week is not too much. You have to take into account that the $400 is used for his son’s living expenses. So if she’s paying bills with it, she’s not doing anything wrong with the money.
So what if she stays home to home school him, that’s her choice as a mother. No one likes to work. If they make ends meet with the child support and her live in’s income good for them.
If you have having financial problems, then seek a financial counselor like Consumer Credit Corp.
But do not try to take away from his first child just because you guys haven’t been managing your money well.
The courts will ALWAYS look at the first child first and foremost. It may not seem fair but that’s just the way it is.
BTW, I have 2 kids and the ex is such a loser that I get $200 a month because he’s able to claim poverty level income. He’s works independently doing landscaping etc….and gets paid mostly in cash so he reports poverty level on his income taxes. I’m glad that I am independent enough that his $200 is play money for my kids. It really does nothing to support them but it give them money for movies, games, eating out etc…..
Be careful with this. I always worry when people pay without a court order because we did, and it came back and bit us in the a$$!
We had no court order, paid child support to his ex becuse it was the right thing to do. We bought clothes, kept receipts, even kept receipts for the child support paid if it wasn’t a check. And when we went to mediation to get rights to this little girl, all the money paid in 1 1/2 yrs was a gift. I don’t even want to calculate how much it was because I’ll scream. But they also went back 2 yrs for back support to us….
What sucked the most was that the mother took off and never told my ex it was his child. Yet we’re being penalized and are paying twice. That’s our error, and I’ll make damn sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else. So I’d be very careful with what you do. If the mother ever takes you to court for child support, it could backfire.
My son isn’t calculated into child support. He wasn’t born when it all happened. But we haven’t changed it because I think they take my income into consideration to calculate how to split expenses with me and my husband. Not sure how true it is, but if times get tough and we need to amend things then we will. But it’s never easy.
Check out. It’s a great site with lots of information and articles. It might have a forum on it to ask how to calculate child support for your state.
Best of luck!
Well, I have 2 children and their father doesn’t live in the home. He was ordered through child support recovery to pay. It IS taken into consideration of your child and taking care of that household. That being said…I think it’s great that he helps with the child outside of the home, he was there before your child. And I don’t think that’s enough money he should be paying in child support. I only get $33 per child for mine, and their father makes really good money, BUT has 4 other children after mine! So they do take it into account and calculate from his income and expenses, but in your case…I would leave it be and not go to court b/c he may end up paying more, but shame on you for even asking this question! That other kid’s support and well being is just as important as yours! Don’t you think the other mother has to pay all those bills too? And good for her to teach kid at home! And by the way…child support is supposed to be used to support the child…like rent, groceries, gas, etc…like if the father were in the home helping pay these things! I can’t stand people who think that if the mother uses the support to pay bills that it’s wrong!
edit: OMG, I can’t believe you just asked why she doesn’t have to work and support child too? She raises that child in her home and takes care of him and makes sure he has supper and brushes his teeth I’m sure! etc….It doesn’t matter whether she works or not, as long as that child is taken care of then that’s all YOU should be worried about!
What state ?You should go to court . then it could get dropped or raised. . In texas it’s 20% of the net income. If the child is a special needs then more money. Added it up net ,multiply by .20 and that about what will by owed.
My husband pays 350 .00 a mo. For a child that won’t come and see him . His ex. doesn’t work . The child is 17 now. He takes care of my 5 kids. Which my ex. won’t pay me. BTW my husband makes 10 a hr. plus over time. It sux.
GOD BLESS
The amount he is paying sounds very reasonable to me. As long as your step son is getting the care he needs, it should not be a problem for you. To take her to court could result in an increase in child support payments. You husband’s first responsibility is to the first child he spawned. The fact that he now has a wife and another child is not taken into consideration.
The ex-girlfriend appears to be working at being a mother and providing a home for her new family. If she has decided not to work, that is her business, not yours.