Could she take part of my money too?
Hello fellow step parents. This is my first entry but Ive been reading daily for the past month or so. Now I have a concern I need help with. My husband and I have been in the military for a few years now, been saving and investing so we now own 5 properties. We will move into one while the others are leased. BM threatens to file CS everytime she has a meltdown or when one of her boyfriends break up with her. DH has been trying to go the CS route years ago but apparently the court cant issue an order without the CP requesting it, which BM never does just for the fact that we keep asking her to. We used to send her a $200 check every other week but she made contact impossible with her drama, so we started sending it to SSs grandparents since he is at their place most of the times anyways and they buy his clothes and school supplies. We would rather have the CO so everything is documented and counted as CS. So the question.... If she finally decides to file CS, could all the money we have been sending be counted as a "gift", not CS and make us backpay? Also, for the profits we make from our leased homes, could those be counted as his income even though the houses are in both our names? What if they are only under my name? Id appreciate any advice!
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In our case..Child support
In our case..Child support starts accumulating from the date the order is filed. She cannot go back any farther than that. Say she files in February and it takes 3 months to be approved by a judge, they will not go any farther back than February for back pay. What you have paid to date will be irrelevant to the order, nor will anything be credited.
It will be considered a
It will be considered a gift...You need to put on the check CS and hope they will take it as that. But, usually this is considered a gift.
My suggestion is to file with the courts so you have it legal and it can not be messed with. Also, we file our taxes separate so BM can't see my income. They say it doesn't matter, but when she had taken us to court last year they were able to see my income.
That would be ideal! But she
That would be ideal! But she wants to still have control being the CP. As soon as we both finish our enlistment in a few months, we will try our hardest to gain full custody. Finally be on our terms, instill some dicipline in this child, and teach him some good manners and morals.
In Ohio, FC is NOT CASE BY
In Ohio, FC is NOT CASE BY CASE! YES, if his name is on the deeds, they WILL count it as income. If it is ONLY in your name, Child Support can not touch it.
AND!!!! You should only owe money from the time the case was filed. Not since birth.
The way my Hubby and I have our stuff set up is 99% of everything is in my name, SHE (BM) can not even mention my name in a court because the children have nothing to do with me. My Hubby can, because he is sole provider for our house hold, and they (CS) do take that into consideration, but anything that is not in his name, they LEGALLY BY OHIO LAW, can not touch!
That is EXACTLY what we are
That is EXACTLY what we are doing as soon as we get there. Thanks a billion!
Child support starts
Child support starts accumulating from the date the order is filed, in my state, once CS is ordered, the judge will order that CS be retroactive from the date the request for CS was filed...but it's usually only 2 or three months. I would DEFINITELY put Child support/Child's name...just to be on the safe side and copy every check and save them, just in case she tries to pull a fast one...you have to stay one step ahead of these BM's...As far as your assets, that's how the court determines the amount of CS to be ordered, they also factor in her income. Your income SHOULD not factor in...at least it doesn't here...here, a SP is not legally financially obligated to pay for the SKID. You may want to do a google search on your states general laws. Anything that is in BOTH your names can be counted, but if it's in your name alone, they can't even consider it. Best of luck!!!
LOL...I was just re-reading
LOL...I was just re-reading some of these comments..."The way my Hubby and I have our stuff set up is 99% of everything is in my name" I always told my husband that if we ever hit the lottery, it was all going in MY name, so BM won't see a penny of it!! }:) I know...evil MUWAHHAHHAAA...
And I love it! I would
And I love it! I would understand if it was something the fathers had while they were together, but to even think that money I helped earn while deployed would go to her just makes my blood boil!!!
Yup, can be counted as a
Yup, can be counted as a gift. Second, get those properties in your name. That way CS can't touch it. then ger a well written post nup and will because if your DH passes away, the skids, and by extension if they are not of age yet, BM can touch it.
All our houses and businesses are in my name, FDH only shows income from his regular day job (of course im the one who actually bought them, and most of the businneses are mine, but he helps out with the mortgage. We just hve a very good prenup to protect him.) we recently transferred his business (because its been losing money) into my name, so when I start managing it and it makes money, he can't be accused of dodging CS because it was transferred during a loss year. anyway, if your dh trusts yu ou, get everything into your name and write up a postnup asap.
The answer is No ...... and
The answer is No ...... and Yes.
In most states the income of a SParent is can not be attached for the payment of CS.
However, many states do allow for an income credit to the NCP based on a Custodial Step Parents significant income.
This is the case in my blended family situation. My income could not be directly considered for the calculation of CS. However, the DipShit (the SpermIdiot BioDad) did recieve a $1000/mo credit to reduce his income for CS calculation since as the bottom 10%er of the legal profession Family Court Judge ruled "Since StepDad makes a significant income, BioDad should not be forced to support an artificially elevated standard of living for the child."
On principle this pissed me off to no end but in reality only reduced DipShits CS obligation by $50/mo so it made absolutely ZERO difference to us.
And YES THE MONEY YOU HAVE BEEN SENDING COULD BE CONSIDERED A GIFT BY THE COURTS!!!!!!
This is why you do not pay CS to the CP directly. You either set up direct payroll withholding of CS by the NCP's employer or you pay directly to the CSE office and let them send BM the check.
I highly recommend direct payroll withholding which completely eliminates any contact or conversation with the blended family oppostion regarding CS. Regardless of which side of the blended family equation you are on (CP or NCP) direct payroll withholding provides this benefit. Particularly on the NCP side this deflects any bitching, moaning or toxic spuing form the CP to the CSE office.
On the CP side it deflects any whining about not having money to pay or the unfair level of CS to the CSE office. "I did not rule on the CS level the court did so call the CSE office to bitch".
And yes, the rental income derived from jointly held properties can be considered income for the calculation of CS. Any income garnered by or paid to the NCP can be attached. This is why you want to incorporate and have your corporate entity receive the rental income and ensure that any payment from the corporate entitity goes to you rather than DH in the form of a salary.
Get an attorney to help you set up your rental income in a manner not attachable for CS.
We are the CP side of our blended family equation. DipShit lives rent free in a property owned by his parents, they raise his three younger also oowl spawn in their home with no help from him, he drives vehicles owned by the SpermGrandParents and they pay his CS for my SS. So .... we had their income attached to DickHeads since they provide far more than 50% of DickHead's support. They just about blew a gasket when they made a motion to have my income (StepDads) considered for the calculation of CS and we counter motioned to have the SpermGrandParent's income added to BioDad's for the calcultation of CS. We had a stack of supporting information showing that they had been paying his CS for my SS, his rent free living in their home, etc, etc, etc.....
All IMHO and experience of course.