Child Support and Fair Modification!?
Heya! I am married, have 2 children, 1 mine from a previous relationship and 1 from my husbands previous relationship. We have no children together...yet...
Basically, the situation is this - he's been paying almost 50% of his paycheck a week to his ex for child support. (Yes! 50%!).
He literally earms about 400 a week and gets to take home 200.
His child lives with the bio mom, and my husband wants to pay for his son, as any good man or woman would. When they broke up they were never married so there was no bitter divorce or anything, just a financial support order.
When they split he was working a good job, didn't have any commitment, didn't have an appartment and no travel costs. She wasn't working but then went out and decided to get a job at a daycare and put their child in daycare almost all day every day except the weekend to allow her time to go out after work etc. Because of this daycare situation, my husband was taken for all he was worth in childcare costs, which needn't have been a problem if she'd not worked. But thats neither here nor there, she's entitled to live a life that she chooses, I have been in her shoes breaking up with my ex with a child too.
Anyhow. When i met him he was living in his friends basement because he just couldn't afford rent! Surely there is something wrong when you can't even afford to rent an appartment and your ex is living in a 4 bedroom house with 3 cars, a truck and whatever items she has that we'd call luxuries.
My husband, being a good man, didn't want to stop paying support, but the amount they took was and still is rediculous.
His child started Kindergaten this term and that means zero childcare as he now gets the bus to school and home, zapping over $160 a week in childcare costs which she is now pocketing instead and using to send her other child to daycare all day while she works and her husband works. We are essentially paying for their childs daycare.
He used to bring home about $270 a week, but his ex dropped the child from her healthcare plan and legally that child has to have healthcare and of course they chased my husband for it, so we're now paying $70 a week health insurance. That leaes us 200 a week, as I mentioned before.
Now, our rent is only $535 a month and the gas bill is $25 and the electric is $80, thats a total of $640. To get to work he uses $50 a week to drive an hour there and back every day and the hour round trip twice a week to pick up his child. When you total that together it amounts to $840 a month. He brings home $800 a month!!!! That leaves us struggling to find that $40 a month, then struggle to find money to buy food, clothes and any other expenses. I'm only able to work part time and I only bring in $300 a month, that barely covers the $50 fine we have a month from a laptop SHE took out a loan for when they split up, in his name, and didn't pay for! Food to feed my son, clothe all of us, pay car insurance of $120 a month covering us both and any unforseen expenses like medical co-pays or perscription costs, school uniform extras and outings etc....(you know how that is).
My income, I know, has nothing to do with how they calculate his child support, which is even worse because if he were living here on his own, he'd be in debt up to his eyeballs.
I get zero child support from my sons dad and I don't chase him for it because he has 2 children and is in a whole other predicament of his own, which I can understand being in the situation i am in now. Instead of demanding an amount, I ask for things like help with new shoes, birthday money, clothes for my son so he doesn't go without etc, that way if he can afford it, its there, and there is no ill feeling between us. What is the point of my childs father paying me all that money when he'll then not be able to look after his wife and kids or provide a good place for my son when he is there?! It boggles the mind how people can be so consumed by their own situation that they forget their ex has to be able to live too.
This is why he's now put in for a child support modification on the basis that his child doesn't go to daycare anymore and that he now has to pay the health insurance as of 8 weeks ago - originally part of the agreement was that she'd have him on CHIP or that she would put him on her insurance. She stuck to that agreement until they wouldn't prescribe the medication SHE wanted for him (which he didn't agree to, but thats a whole other can of worms), at which point she dropped him and made my husband pick up the pieces because no child should be without care.
I guess my long winded point and question is this:
With reguards to my husband getting a reduction in child support, he only wants whats fair, he doesn't want his child to go without, at all. He has him weekends and mid week and pays, i think, over the top support and has done for the past 6 years. (If you can't make a $535 a month rent when you have a good wage, there's a problem, right?).
The forms were filed last week and the court date is 6 weeks away. she is STILL getting the childcare costs even though the child is in K!!!!! Will my husband get backdated acknowledgement for these interim weeks that she is claiming for, or will they just say "well, you should have applied sooner, she can keep all that money"?
Is it likely that they will be fair and just in a reduction when they were hardly fair in the original alottment?
I know her husband is on good money, but I know they don't take into account his money or mine when they work out my husband and his ex's child support. That to me makes sense. But, she's talking about not working anymore. If she drops work just to spite my husband, will that then screw with his payments again??
She thinks she is entitled to MORE than we are paying now and that the modification will be in HER interest and not his!!! Surely this cannot be right??!
Surely there are laws against claiming money for something you're not getting?!?!
I just don't understand how my ex and I can be so civil about our break up and finances and visitation etc and almost still be friends, yet my husband's ex is hardly able to even speak to my husband or pick up the phone and call the child support section and say "I've dropped daycare, please modify..." which is ALL it would have taken, instead of us paying money to take it to court!???
Any advice or views welcome, please?
I am a mother, who has been in both the shoes of the broken up parents and the step parent, so I can see both sides, but fair is fair, no?
Sounds like a complete
Sounds like a complete travesty to me that he's paying 50%! I'm in England, and the standard amount here is 15% of the absent parent's income is supposed to go as child support. If she's stopped paying insurance, which was part of the original agreement, then I would assume that she has broken the financial support order. Also, it may be worth you drawing up a list of financial responsibilities to show that there is a shortfall of $40 each month - no-one's going to be happy if your husbands debts spiral out of control & can't afford to pay anything cos it all goes to creditors!
Good luck
Is it likely that they will
Is it likely that they will be fair and just in a reduction when they were hardly fair in the original alottment?
No. It's likely they will follow the law just like they did for the original order.
PA is an income share state. So that means that his income and her income are going to be combined to come up with an amount upon which the CS order will be based. There is a formula used for this:
Rule 1910.16-4. Support Guidelines. Calculation of Support Obligation. Formula.
PART I. BASIC CHILD SUPPORT
OBLIGOR OBLIGEE
1. Total Gross Income Per Pay Period
2. Less Deductions ( ) ( )
3. Net Income
4. Conversion to Monthly Amount (if pay period is other than monthly)
5. Combined Total Monthly Net Income
6. Plus Child’s Monthly Social Security, Death, Retirement or Disability Derivative Benefit,
if any. (See Rule 1910.16-2(b)(2)) +
7. Adjusted Combined Monthly Net Income
8. PRELIMINARY BASIC CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION (determined from schedule at Rule 1910.16-3 based on number of children and line 7 adjusted combined monthly net income)
9. Less Child’s Monthly Social Security Derivative Benefit ( )
10. BASIC CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION
11. Net Income Expressed as a Percentage Share of Income (divide line 4 by line 5 and multiply by 100) % %
12. Each Parent’s Monthly Share of the Basic Child Support Obligation (multiply line 10 and 11)
PART II. SUBSTANTIAL or SHARED PHYSICAL CUSTODY ADJUSTMENT, IF APPLICABLE (See subdivision (c) of this rule)
13. a. Percentage of Time Spent with Children (divide number of overnights with obligor by 365 and multiply by 100) %
b. Subtract 30% ( )
c. Obligor’s Adjusted Percentage Share of the Basic Monthly Support Obligation (subtract line 13b from line 11)
d. Obligor’s Adjusted Share of the Basic Monthly Support Obligation (multiply line 13c and line 10)
e. Further adjustment, if necessary under subdivision (c)(2) of this rule
PART III. ADDITIONAL EXPENSES (See Rule 1910.16-6)
14. a. Obligor’s Share of Child Care Expenses
b. Obligor’s Share of Health Insurance Premium (if the obligee is paying the premium)
c. Less Obligee’s Share of the Health Insurance Premium (if the obligor is paying the premium) ( )
d. Obligor’s Share of Unreimbursed Medical Expenses
e. Other Additional Expenses
f. Total Additional Expenses
15. OBLIGOR’S TOTAL MONTHLY SUPPORT
OBLIGATION (add line 12 (or 13(d or e) (if
applicable) and line 14f)
Basically, you fill all that in and VIOLA! it spits out the amount of support that should be paid.
As to the 50% of his wages, it appears that not only is that law in PA, but that he got off easily, since they could have taken 60%:
C) 3. What portion of the noncustodial parent's wages will be withheld?
The Consumer Credit Protection Act determines the maximum amount of an individual's net income that is subject to garnishment. These limits are 50 percent for a noncustodial parent who is the head of a second household and 60 percent for a noncustodial parent who is not supporting a second family. These percentages may be increased five percent for payment on arrears owed when the noncustodial parent is behind on support payments 12 weeks or more.
As to the modification:
(M) 3. How do I modify my support order?
Step 1: Write, call, or visit the Domestic Relations Section (DRS) that handles your support case.
Step 2: Ask the DRS for a petition for modification, or log into this web site as a payee or payor to download a copy of the petition for modification.
Step 3: Complete, sign, and return the petition for modification to the DRS.
Step 4: You will receive notice from the DRS with the date, time, and place you are scheduled to attend a DRS office conference to talk about the request for modification. The notice lists information that you must bring to the conference.
Step 5: Attend the DRS office conference to see if your order can be modified.
Step 6: If both parties agree with the new modified amount of support, the DRS will enter a new support order.
Back to Question (M) 3. Back to top
(M) 4. What if I do not agree on the new amount of support?
* If either party does not agree with the modified amount of support, the DRS will enter a recommended support order.
* If a party does not agree with the recommended support order, he/she is provided 20 days to request a hearing.
* To request a hearing, call or write the local DRS that handles your case.
Really, the onus is on the party who feels they will benefit from a modification to file the paperwork to get one.
We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.
Have your husband call the
Have your husband call the support office and ask them to clarify some points. In my case, support would have been stopped the day of filing, to be resumed or terminated depending on the outcome of the court case it it went that far. Also, the child not being in daycare qualifies as a change in circumstance. If he is getting his child more than the allotted time, and he has records to prove this, then that time will also help in computing CS. Also in my case, a CS mod did not have to go thru the courts. i simply filed with DCS. Actually, I should say in FH's case. I just handled all the paperwork. DCS can modify based off of w-2's and change in circumstances. There definitely has been major changes in circumstances, what with BM now working and Sd no longer in daycare.
What does the order say?
What does the order say? What state? Is she required to let him or the court know about changes in circumstance such as these? ie. for example I read about a woman who was requried to tell ex and state if a child no longer lived with her, but didn't...ex-husband found out and took her to court...she was made to repay him the money plus penalty...but again, all cases and states are different...