Child support modification in California
In California. DH is going to court next week after submitting a RFO for modifying child support. We are looking at getting it decreased after his income went down last year.
Factors are good for us: ex earns more than $3/hourly more than she did when the child support was first ordered (and she works 5-8 more hours a week), we spend 4-5% more time with the children than when CS was first ordered, DH earned 20% less than when CS was first ordered (and income went down in years between but has not really been an issue until now), and ultimately: she cannot prove need as she refuses to provide financial documentation (in the dissolution case, she refused to provide it; her other filings regarding her earnings don't prove need but actually state that she earns $300 more per month than her expenses require).
Oh yeah, she's trying to get spousal support - while engaged - and has stated on previous paperwork that her fiance lives with her. Changed it to boyfriend later and then supposedly he has moved out, but she is trying to get us to pay her fiance for watching the kids after school.
The court date is fast approaching and we never received any response papers. Are there response papers for this? She has stated that she has an attorney, but at the last court date (for spousal support continuation, as she hasn't been providing the financial discovery so the courts have received a motion to compel from us) did not have an attorney present and none of the court records have an attorney on file for her. Plus the court wanted to roll spousal support together with child support, but DCSS rejected that idea and now it's back at the original judge/court.
Have any of you gone through this and want to share your experience? Thoughts on this situation? Anything I'm not thinking about?
Our BM also refused to
Our BM also refused to provide DCSS, the court, or my DH copies of her financial info, so DCSS used "presumed income" calculation based on her previous jobs/positions/income to recalculate the child support amount she (ultimately) got ordered to pay.
It doesn't work in your BM's favor to withhold her financial (Income & Expense Statement) but it can cause delays. Our BM showed up at the 1st two child support hearings lying about "lost in the mail" & got lectured by the judge (who gave her b.s. lies the benefit of the doubt and was more than fair), so she didn't bother showing up to the 3rd hearing & that's when DH got awarded a great child support amount, and it's been garnished right the h*ll out of her paychecks ever since.
Also go in knowing that DCSS represents the State - not DH, not BM, not even "the children" as they advertise. They just need to continue being seen as a "revenue-generating" program for the Feds & State funding that all states compete for. OCSE, DCSS & the LCSA's in your state are headed by, and staffed with attorneys who are also, people hungry for power and money. They gorge on taxpayer-funded "trainings" (where they frequently "hook up" with other child support personnel & cheat on their spouses) but pat themselves on the back and humble-brag about all they do, "for the children." So, while they can be useful (especially when BM is messing up), never forget that the local child support agency (LCSA) staff & attorneys are NOT on your team.
Interesting note about DCSS.
Interesting note about DCSS. Thanks a lot! I appreciate it!
Document, document, document.
it worked well for us.
However, courts and Judges are fickle at best so don’t get overconfident.
We always went to court loaded for bear and the opposition barely provided any information. My DW was the CP in our blended family adventure. The SpermIdiot was the NCP and the SpermGrandHag was our primary nemesis.
Keep in mind that the CP has the advantage in most CS situations as the income shares method of calculation of CS, which most states use, makes it exceptionally difficult for CS to be lowered significantly if at all.
In our case my bride completed undergrad and graduate studies while the SpermIdiot dabbled in a variety of low paying manual labor jobs until getting his plumbers license. Even then he worked primarily for cash under the table, we have PI video footage of his scamming the CS process by working under the table, and kept his W2 work hour low in an effort to avoid CS. The beauty of the Income Shares model is that it mitigates this very well. The downside is that it punishes responsible NCPs and rewards manipulative CPs.
Even though my brides income continued to explode upwards and the Spermidiots either dropped or stayed level at best, anytime the SpermClan attempted to lower CS it just kept going up. The Income Shares formulas combine bioparent income to establish the total financial support number then factor in parenting time and any non-joint children. Then CS is set on the NCP. Even when the NCP's income does not go up, or even drops and the COs goes through the roof the NCP will more often than not get hit with an increase.
Jump in to your states online CS calculator and play with different scenarios of income, parenting time, and dependent numbers to get an idea of the likely outcomes.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Good luck.
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Thanks, I appreciate it! Sorry to hear about your mess. BM's income has gone up and DH's has gone down, so I guess we'll see...
DUPE
DUPE
I didn’t find anything that
I didn’t find anything that addresses what I am asking.
Play around with this
https://www.cse.ca.gov/ChildSupport/cse/guidelineCalculator
Number of kids, who they belong to, CP's income, NCP's income, parenting time with each parent, etc... all have influence over CS. It should give you some data on likely outcomes.
As I said, when my wife's (the CP) income kept going up and the NCP's stayed flat or kept dropping the total $s available for support of a child went up and though the NCP's % of responsibility dropped his actual CS $ obligation increased. That is the nature of the Income Shares CS models. Though our CO was not in California (Oregon) they use similar Income Shares models for CS calculation.
I am not sure what specifically you are looking to find out. However, regarding response paperwork.... there is usually some requirement to provide financial information (pay stubs, tax returnns, W-2s, etc....) which the DA should subpoena both parties to provide. A cop usually goes to the court and to the opposition party or their attorney. If BM has not submitted anything, that can be part of what your DH brings up in court.
In our case the SpermIdiot actaully ran from the constable attempting to serve him for the hearing, never provided any of the required information, and didn't show up for the CS review provess. The DA's office actually requested my wife to provide as much information as she could on the NCP's financial and work history. *diablo* Never ask a CPA to dig into a problem or for information on taxes, financials, or income sources. She/we provided a pile of information to the DA on the SpermIdiot (tax returns, financial assets, leins, video of him receiving under the table cash payment, his state plumber's license, comprehensive income breakdowns for plumbers in his county, and a recommended imputed income based on all of the information we dug up).
The DA took my DW's recommendation of imputed income and the NCP's CS went up by nearly 600%. The Judge invoked direct payroll withholding which is what got the SpermIdiot's attention and brought him screaming into court. He got a $0.00 paycheck. The next hearing the SpermClan did bring financials but only very limited support for their stated income. The Judge still imputed a higher income on the SpermIdiot than what he claimed due to his under the cable cash income, living rent free in the SpermGrandParent's rental property rent free, and the SGPs raising his three younger also out of wedlock spawn by 2 other baby mamas in their home with no support from the SpermIdiot.
What really set them off was when they attempted to get my income factored in to the CS calcualation and we counter motioned to have the SGP's income factored in due to their support of their idiot serially out of wedlock breeding son. That was fun.
Ultimately CS was rolled back from the 600% increase to a 350% increase of the original order.
My point is that the calculation model weighs CP income, NCP income and parenting time and those factors are weighted to maitain a stability of CS level regardless of the variance between NCP and CP income. Even when a CP makes a ton more $ than an NCP and no other factors have changed.... CS can go up.
Good luck though. I wish you the best.
I mostly wanted your personal
I mostly wanted your personal experiences. Thank you :)