OT - child support
So this is the opposite issue of what most complain about here since I'm on the receiving end, but at the same time might annoy anyone who has a hardworking spouse and has to pay a ridiculous amount of child support.
ODS dad just got his CS obligation reduced to the new state minimum of $50. The justification being that he's voluntarily unemployed. I guess sometimes it pays to be a slacker.
I've already accepted a long time ago that I'll probably never see a dollar anyway and dont care much at this point, but how is that a thing? It just seems weird. You dont want to work so we will help you out with avoiding responsibilities?
ETA: they do technically use imputed income but they recently changed how they do that calculation.
- Jcksjj's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
I've never heard of them
I've never heard of them lowering it for being voluntarily unemployed, that's usually when they impute income.
Are you sure he's not in jail?
100%. He lives in my hometown
100%. He lives in my hometown so I have family members who see him around. They did impute his income on the basis that hes voluntarily unemployed but with their new way of calculating it that ends up being $50. It flat out says voluntarily unemployed in the paperwork.
Yeah They NEVER lower for being voluntarily unemployed here
This is NYS and they impute, IMPUTE, IMPUTE!!!
Guess you don't live in NYS.
I dont. And his has always
I dont. And his has always been imputed and still is, but the way they calculated it before it was 292. I may have worded it incorrectly but under the justification for using imputed income it was that he is voluntarily unemployed.
Which means they should
Which means they should impute it at what he is capable of making, or what he made when he was working, or minimum wage, something less ridiculous than just setting it at 50.00 a month. That's messed up.
If he's not employed, where does he live?
With his stepmom actually lol
With his stepmom actually lol. He actually perfectly fits the stories of entitled skids on here and what happens when people guilt parent - but unlike the SMs on here his SM contributed to it. And now shes paying for him again when hes almost 33 years old.
Hes lived off of a few girlfriends and other friends here and there also. I know he has had at least some cash income here and there - working beet harvest in the fall for farmers etc.
As for the imputed part - they just did 30 hours a week at minimum wage (9.50 an hour). It used to be imputed at 1.5x minimum wage (which at the time was about 10.75 an hour) and it was 292 basic support plus 23 towards health insurance. So yeah I dont really get the math on that.
That's terrible. I wish it
That's terrible. I wish it was better regulated. honeslty I think all CS should be done THROUGH THE OFFICE. Prevents situations like mine where Psycho is well over $3k behind (it only started last August) and likely we'll never see anymore than the $200 we got after she was told she needed pay SOMETHING by DH.
But DH won't report becuase frankly he's an idiot. He sees it as going against that fragile man-card because he's "always done it without her and doesn't need her or her money." *eye roll*
Is there any way you can argue against that? Voluntary unemployment definitley seems like skirting responsibilities.
Idk if I could argue against
Idk if I could argue against it or not. It's kind of a lost cause - I havent seen a dollar in over 4 years and it was rare before that and he would rather spend a couple weeks in jail every year or so when they finally put a warrant and then when the warrant is out they finally catch him. So I'd actually gladly take the $50 if he actually pays for it- at least it would pay for part of ODS lunch money for the month.
I dont see why a woman shouldn't have to pay CS if they arent the custodial parent. I actually feel the same way as your DH that I've always done it without him so whatever, it is what it is. But at the same time I'm not gonna let him off the hook- I'll let CSE do what they can/will. I'm just not going to expend extra energy on it when the outcome probably wont change. Or give him the satisfaction or mental space in my head that he wants to get by not paying it.
I see what you're saying. The
I see what you're saying. The only reason I'm really peeved is she spends ranodm money on crap for herself all the time... Just can't spend it on CS. And all it would take for DH is 30 minutes at DHR to fill out the paperwork and $35. Then they take over and take care of EVERYTHING for it.
Yeah I would be annoyed about
Yeah I would be annoyed about that also. I certainly dont have sympathy for that type of person. Self centered with a broken moral compass.
I really don't understand why
I really don't understand why the courts are allowing your kid's dad to act that way. He could and SHOULD be working at least part time and paying something for his kiddo! Kids are expensive! Anything helps out!
I dont get it either. And
I dont get it either. And then I see so many people on here with DHs that actually do support the kids and get screwed for every extra little thing by CS - just seems so backwards. Idk if dropping it for the people who wont pay helps them to get some more to pay the little bit so that it drops their caseload that they need to spend time actively going after or what.
Girl, I feel the same! I read
Girl, I feel the same! I read about all these people paying so much and that's just not what I have experienced - so it's not just you!
PA, I'd be inclined to tell
PA, I'd be inclined to tell DH that until he could take the time to fill out the paperwork and pay the fee to have CS done through the office, none of your money will be available to him. You have supported him and his children. Why is he willing to accept YOUR money for kids that aren't even yours, and not be willing to try to enforce Psycho's CS obligation? It makes no sense, but sounds typical. These men would rather shit on their current wives than cause waves or confront the ex-wives. SMH.
Crazy isn't it?
Crazy isn't it?
If CP was really handling it all (financially and otherwise) there's still no excuse. But man when you're counting on someone else's resources to raise your kids...
Don't need the money to make your budget work? Stash it for the kid(s) in a savings account, a college fund, a trust, whatever. To just leave it on the table at the expense of your child(ren) and spouse, that's inexcusable.
That's exactly my arguement.
That's exactly my arguement. We don't NEED the money per say. But we could get the girls a few nicer things occasionally with it. AND we could start a savings account that would majorly benefit them in the future as well!
Yeah I kind of thought the
Yeah I kind of thought the same thing...not fair to you if he could be getting help for his kid from his ex and chooses not to.
It's seemed stupid to me too.
It's seemed stupid to me too. I've pulled a lot of my finances. I pay rent and the phone bill. He gets all utilities and we split groceries. But for the most part I've been keeping more for myself. Which makes me feel a bit selfish because that's now how I am. But until DH has to deal with it all, he's not going to realize the extent. This goes to my other blog. Men are idiots.
The entire CS system is
The entire CS system is broken.
A few years ago, DH was working as a server. He didn't want to have to go to the bank weekly to put in CS to have it direct deposited to CSB (with an added fee, BTW) when he could just give BM cash every 2 weeks when he got the boys. He called CSB to ask about options, and was told that so long as he had signed receipts, he could turn it all in year-end to CSB and it would be credited to his account. So that's what he did.
Mid-December that year he gets an arrears letter threatening he'll lose his license and end up with a warrant for his arrest. He calls CSB and explains everything, and the person he talked to that time said what he did wasn't allowed any longer, even though it was still listed on their website as allowable. DH had to go to CSB with BM for her to sign an affidavit stating she received the money. Then a judge got to decide if they felt BM was telling the truth in the affidavit and accept that DH had pay.
DH ended up owing several hundred dollars in fees and interest EVEN THOUGH BM GOT HER MONEY. Even when he was trying to do the right thing and save himself $40+ per month in fees, plus gas and time, he still got screwed!
I feel sorry for you, OP. It seems that the people who get screwed are the ones doing it right, on both sides of the coin. It's because of people like your ex that stupid laws get put in place that stupid people just figure out how to get around.
So you guys got screwed
So you guys got screwed because CSE didnt know how to so their job? Was it just them wanting their cut of it since they didnt get that with it going directly to her or did extra go to BM also?
I think that like 2% of mine gets taken by CSE and then it's like a 35 dollar a year charge they keep. So if he does happen to pay I'll probably get a whole like $14 dollars the first month.
Apparently the law changed,
Apparently the law changed, but they didn't update their website (or staff). I'm sure it was because they want their cut. DH pays a $10+ fee every time he pays through their online portal thing where it's not just directly garnished from his checks (though there could be a fee for that, too) and $50+ every year for the pleasure of using their system.
Ugh that's stupid. I can't
Ugh that's stupid. I can't believe they would allow him to pay so little when he's choosing to be unemployed. That's awful and I'm sorry you're going through that!
Lovely BM in our neck of the woods is hiding money and inflating her expenses to try to not pay the correct CS .
They list our expenses in the
They list our expenses in the worksheet but dont actually take any into account other than if one parent is paying medical or childcare. So idk what the point is.
And yeah I have a close family member who actually works at the county jail and I know that when he had to go there for CS he got work release to job hunt and they have resources for finding jobs available to the inmates. There are tons of jobs in this area he could get. So if he wanted to do better he definitely could.
I'm not understanding the
I'm not understanding the math. If they impute income of $9.25 for 30 hours a week, that comes out to $14,430 a year and $1202.50 a month. $50 is roughly 4% of that. I've never heard of a state using 4% as the CS percentage. Do they have some special low income formula? In any event, it's a disgrace that a state allows a deadbeat dad to be voluntarily unemployed with such a pathetic amount going to his child. But as you've said, someone who would be voluntarily unemployed and sponging off his stepmom at 33 isn't someone who is likely to pay his CS anyway.
Looking at the statute they
Looking at the statute they quoted in the documents, I think that if you're net income is under a certain amount (imputed or actual) they just throw the formula out the window and say okay well why dont you just pay $50.
Oh I believe it, when we got
Oh I believe it, when we got screwed one final time by CS meth mouth got over 700 from us for 1 month and her other ex has to pay over a 1000 a month with 50/50 custody. They imputed her income as 0.00, they claimed they would run her as having a minimum wage job, but they didn’t!
That's crazy.
That's crazy.
If you were on welfare of any
If you were on welfare of any kind, the state would award you all the CS their magical calculations could produce. Too many states treat CS as a welfare recapture program and don't really care how it affects individuals.