Childcare Expenses and Age 12
In our state, CS for childcare is only awarded until age 12. Once the child turns 12, the CP is no longer entitled to that additional support. Does anyone have experience with this? Is that portion of CS automatically deducted once skid turns 12 or would DH have to request a CS review?
We are thinking about this because SS is almost 11 and we don't necessarily want to initiate a CS review once he turns 12 because DH is making a little more money, so I would hate for his CS to increase while trying to drop the daycare cost. If it automatically reduces, then it's a non-issue.
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In the CO is the childcare
In the CO is the childcare cost line itemed out separately? or are you assuming it is just captured within his CS.
Is there a different rate schedule over and under 12?
If it's just a line item.. it may be possible to ask for it to be reduced.. maybe.. but if your DH's income has gone up.. whether BM knows this or not.. I would expect that SHE will initiate a review if he tries to get it reduced due to child care..
It is a separate line item.
It is a separate line item. DH's CS order outlines x amount for base support, x amount for medical and x amount for childcare. It then provides a grand total of all three at the bottom. The amount ordered for childcare is half of the total reported amount BM provided at the time of calculation.
That's the other thing, I don't want BM petitioning for a review either. There are too many factors to know whether it would go up or down. We know BM's income has gone up significantly since she is doing private therapy as a side gig. We also had DD which would have to be taken into consideration. It's just too hard to tell. Every time we think CS will go down, it just goes way up. I just don't want to end up paying more than we already do.
In our situation, CS went up even when the NCP's income was
stagnant for years. As my DW's (the CP) income exploded (She finished a dual major BS with honors, an MBA with honors, and obtained her CPA license) the NCP worked as a licensed plumber and purposely tried to minimize his income to keep his CS as low as he could. Not a good move. We hired a PI, obtained video footage of him receiveing under the table payment for plumbing jobs he stole form his employer and worked on the side, etc... He even ran from the Constable who was trying to serve him the summons for a court CS review.
So, my bride's income just kept going up and so did CS. Most US States use a variant of the Income Shares model which totals the combined incomes of both BioParents and then allocates a division of child raising costs based on parenting time. Even if the significantly higher earner, by several hundred %, is the CP, and the NCP makes next to nothing, CS can go up. It did for the SpermClan in our case.
It started at a $110/mo pittance, then went up to $133/mo when the SpermClan attempted to gain custody of SS away from my DW. As the Spermidiot added oowl spawn (three more all out of wedlock by two additional baby mamas) CS for my SS just kept climbing. Ultimately getting to nearly $800/mo. It retracted to nearly $400/mo when the Spermidiot came screaming and crying into court when his antics in running from the Constable caught up with him, CS was recalculated at nearly $800, and they invoked direct payroll withholding. He got a $zero pay check which got his attention. Because he ran from the Constable the Judge ordered the ~$800/mo in arrears to the filing date of that CS review so he had to pay it for nearly 3 years before CS reset to ~$400/mo for the last 3 years of the CO.
Every time they tried to get it lowered, it went up.
Less than a year after the new CS level was set, they tried to get it lowered when they finally got SS medical insurance coverage. They were ordered to provide it when he was 2yo onward and did not actually get it until SS was 13yo. The judge reviewed the medical policy they brought, declared it crap, ordered them to maintain it in effect and to keep paying for half of the cost of the coverage that I had provided from the time SS was 2yo. So, now they had to pay more though in the form of medical insurance premiums.
The NCP side of the equation should be very cautious in initiating CS reviews. Even if they add a non joint child, or several, on the NCP side CS may go up when the expectation of the NCP is that it will go down because of a new baby that has no relationship to the XW/XH. Birth order often takes precidence regarding access to bio parent income when there is failed family progeny in the mix. The failed family progeny will likely get the lion's share of CS money until they age out from under the CS order.
Hopefully the CP is too stupid to know better and too lazy to figure it all out.
We were fortunate that the SpermClan/NCP was too stupid to know better and too lazy to figure it out. They were always shocked to tears when their grand plans in court would come back to bite them in the ass. We lived that CO. Inside out, upside down, and backwards. From the date the original was ordered the week before SS turned 2yo until he aged out from under the CO at 18. Even before then. The first CO granted full physical and legal custody to my DW when she was a 16yo single teen mom. Each subsequent update upheld that custody award, then defined visitation and support, then redefined support. The Spermidiot kept adding spawn, the CS kept going up.
They never seemed to catch a clue.
The only break they ever got was from my SS. He could have kept them on the hook for CS until he was 22yo while he went to college. He chose not to keep them on the hook. Against my advice.
CSE varies by state and
CSE varies by state and county. You can probably check with them directly without BM's knowledge. They shouldn't need to know who is asking, it's a general knowledge question.
The answer may also be on the county court website.
DH will have to call them. We
DH will have to call the county FOC. We spent a long time googling the question today, but it doesn't state. It just states that it goes until age 12 but doesn't provide guidance on what happens then.
Our CS order had the same stipulation of childcare until 12yo.
At that point either of the BioParents had to file to end the child care element of CS.
Of course we never did.
Neither did he/they. Too stupid to even read the CO much less actually understand what was in it. So they paid an extra several thousand over the last 6years until SS-30 aged out from under the CO when he turned 18. The Child Care CS component was $50/mo. It ended when the rest of CS ended on SS's 18th bday.
I suggest that you read the CO. Odds are, there is no automatic end to the child care component of CS and that to end it, you will have to initiate a change request.
We did read the CO. It
We did read the CO. It outlines the date of emancipation, after SS turns 18 and graduates high school. It outlines that DH must notify the courts of emancipation for CS to end in it's entirety, but nowhere does it address how to terminate the daycare portion of CS. It just states that BM is entitled to it until August of they year SS turns 12.
We are trying to weigh the pros and cons of ending the daycare portion if it does require a CS review. I don't want to petition to remove the daycare portion if it will just cause DH's support to go up. DH is just going to call and find out.
It should be in the court
It should be in the court order and he should check with his caseworker at FOC to make sure it comes off. This should not make his support go up , that would happen with a review. My DH got screwed so many times by FOC not being timely with adjustments. He had to hound them. There is no shame in pursuing this for himself. This is a part of the CO that both DH and BM signed and agreed to.
BM didn't agree to it. It is
BM didn't agree to it. It is state law. I fear that since BM is high conflict and money grubbing, she will demand a full review and CS increase if we try to remove the childcare expense when SS reaches age.
That's the fear of every CS
That's the fear of every CS adjustment. If salary went up, that's the chance you take. Find the online calculator and figure it out. The wondering is not helping your anxiety. When each Skid came off CS as they aged out it was automatic but late in happening. The difference between my (BM) experience with MI FOC was opposite of DH's experience. Biased beyond belief. So glad to be done with it all.
We had the line item
For childcare eliminated when YSS turned 12, however in our state, it requires a full court appearance and all finances (on the NCP side) revealed. They do ask for CP BM's income but that is generally ignored along with any income of HER spouse or SO.
They DO take a keen interest in ALL income from ANY person residing with NCP biodad, however.
CSP income was a double edged sword in SpermLand courts.
While the law expressly excluded SParent income, it also granted a Judge leaway to award the NCP an income reduction credit if the CP was married to a high earning partner.\
As the bottom 10%er dipshit of the legal profession in the Harry Potter robes slinging the Fisher-Price toddler's wooden hammer said in our hearing. "Bio dad should not be punished by having to overly contribute to an artificially elevated life style for the child because mom's husband makes a high income."
Then proceeded to order maximum reduction in Spermidiot income to moderate his CS obligation. His income was reduced by $1000/mo. Though the actual reduction in CS was a pittance. $50/mo. Which lowered his CS from a pittance of $180/mo to $130/mo. We never needed the money. That the Spermidiot benefited from my income chapped my ass for the 16+ years we lived under the CO. Though his CS kept going up periodically, to a high of nearly $800/mo, he kept getting the maximum income reduction credit and his CS reduced by $50/mo.
When SS would get upset when SpermGrandHag would guilt him about his starving three younger also out of wedlock Spermidiot spawned half sibs by two other baby mamas I would tell SS that SS was giving them $50/mo to help feed his half sibs. SpermGrandHag would lose her shit when SS would drop that on her. "Gramma, dad says I give you $50/mo to help feed my sister and my brothers." It pissed SpermGrandHag off so bad that she eventually quit bringing it up with SS because he would smack her with the "$50/mo" comment. The more he was aware of the facts, the better he got at protecting himself from their manipulations.
It is the exact opposite
Here in NYS. Basically if NCP has ANY member of his household making ANY kind of income (SS, wages, tips, paper route,etc) it gets reported (post 2008) and is considered as a REDUCTION in household expenses for NCP thereby subjecting any and all income of NCP as fodder for INCREASED CS payments to the CP. Aka reduced self support reserve down to $0 for NCP bioDAD.
Technically NCP's SM's income is not supposed to count however they get around this by the above referenced argument. Meanwhile, CP BM can be married to Zuckerbucks and Zuck's income will be ignored by the courts. That is because she is the payEE/recipient and cash strapped spendy blue states love the federal kickbacks for highest amount of CS ordered and collected to the state CSEUs under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (mandatory wage withholding and "name anyone as father" on a child's birth certificate just to launch a CS claim) which lurched forward federally in 1990.
I have a feeling anytime
I have a feeling anytime money is going to change the state will usually want a review of the parent’s financials. If it really were that simple for something to just fall off then he would not have to show proof that SS is 18 and graduated for CS to end. Do they have a disso calculator online he can put his income and BM’s income minus the required childcare so he can get an idea of what to expect? Good luck, be prepared for a review.
Remember gang, never assume it is true
Years and years ago, BM was collecting an extra 100bucks A WEEK ON TOP of his hefty child support. She claimed it was for after school care at a center. Dh didn't think much about it.
BM said it to the court so of course it HAD to be true. I didn't initially question her either----
After some digging around, we confirmed the kids were NOT attending after school care.
DH went back to court for CS modification---low and behold BM was lying thru her teeth for years. We never recovered that money. BM's cs was reduced by 400 a month.
BM's and Day care---NCP must stay on top of this. Many BM's have state vouchers for free day care. Some have Granny's watching the kids for free but pocket full day care money in child support calculations. Some BM's will leave their kids fend for themselves after school and STILL report child care expenses.
More than likely, he will
More than likely, he will have to ask for a review/modification. In my experience, the state rarely takes it upon them themselves to lower/end any part of CS.
If you're in the US, it does
If you're in the US, it does definitely differ by state. In our case, DH would have had to petition for a change, but he was afraid to do so, since he kept getting raises the farther he was into his legal career. As a result, his CS was calculated assuming BM had to pay $800 in day care costs (to HER BM, who babysat for free until the divorce) until YSS graduated high school, at age 18 years, 5 months! We were definitely afraid it would increase and feared BM would lie and say anything to try to keep it the same or increased. The ONLY silver lining is that BM never had any idea what DH made.