Trying for Child Support
My DH does not get child support from Bio Mom. She works 5 hours a week and tried requesting spousal support during the divorce. My husband has physical custody and she gets son EO weekend. My DH only asked for CS after she requested spousal support. (The greedy B had left him and the then 5 year old son 7 years prior, moved out of their home to go party and live with her best friend/lesbian lover).
The judge did the CS/SS worksheet in court one day and it came out to him owing her about $400 on a monthly basis. She started smiling, DH freaked out and then the judge decided not to award any support since it wasn't in DH's favor. No SS was awarded and no CS was awarded.
So deadbeat mom has never paid any support for SS13 nor does she assist with any expenses. Oh, of course she buys him Nike shoes and video game consoles for her home and always sends him home with stupid hats but nothing that he needs.
Though their divorce is final, they have been going to court every 3-4 months working on custody. Because she is new to taking care of her son, the mediators have wanted to take baby steps. So the every other weekend has also been cut to every other SAturday at one point, now back to every other weekend, etc. She's a mess and it's always something. Right now the mediator is focused on getting her to stop smoking pot and driving the kid around and for her to provide him with his own area/room/bed in her 3 bedroom home she shares with her "best friend" aka girlfriend. (she hides her relationship from her son even though he is aware) so she makes him sleep in bed with her.
Anyway, my husband and I are expecting a baby this summer. I'd like to try and get Child Support after that point. I'm wondering if they will make her get a job or at least calculate it based on what she can make. We have past tax returns where she made $20K + in a given year. She loves to say she's low income and can't afford things, etc, etc. but the truth is that she has money and she's just too lazy to get a real job because it will interfere with her pot smoking.
My husband probably takes home about $2500 a month. I make a considerable amount more, have three kids with my ex, have the family on my health insurance, etc. I'm really tired of this lazy B not paying anything and using the excuse that she doesn't have gas money, she's low income, etc, etc.
What are our chances? Could this back fire in any way?
Everything we've done so far has been on our own, through a paralegal or using a lawyer for consultation. I'm pretty savvy with this stuff, but I want to make sure we stick it to her }:) but I want to be realistic. If I'm spending $3k to get $50 in child support for the next 5 years, is it even worth it?
thanks for any input.
In Texas, the CSA (OAG)
In Texas, the CSA (OAG) calculates the NCP as earning minimum wage if there are no income records on file & it is calculated from there. Can you just go to the CSA in your state & see what happens?
Their website is http://www.childsup.ca.gov/Resources/ApplyForServices.aspx & they have a pretty detailed "potential" CS calculator which can be found http://www.childsup.ca.gov/Resources/CalculateChildSupport.aspx
Good luck!
I'm in CA so if they
I'm in CA so if they calculate her at at least minimum wage at 40 hours a week, then we do get awarded something. I guess I'm just also wondering if the judge could then also re-open up spousal support - even though her attempt was bogus since they hadn't lived together for 7 years - but that woman can spin a web of lies; we're just lucky that she's so high most of the time, she forgets her stories.
Could the spousal support issue be brought back into play? If not, then I think it's a slam dunk, however, if my income gets taken into account anywhere in the equation, that could be all bad.
The CA calculation worksheet confuses me though, so I'm not always sure if I'm doing it correctly.
Even if we can get some type
Even if we can get some type of order, that would be a win in our book. I totally understand that it will be another battle to actually collect it, but wow, it would make me smile so big for her to go to jail for non-payment of support
Oh man, I'd forego child
Oh man, I'd forego child support if she would disappear!
Tell me about it. I have
Tell me about it. I have three kids of my own and I'm supporting HER damned kid. And she tells him to be mean to me...I send the damned kid to private school for god's sakes so he can get up to grade level and shape his disrespectful butt the hell up!
It makes me sick that she can spend her money on taking him out to eat, taking him to the city, taking him ice skating, etc, etc and meanwhile I'm feeding the kid and buying his clothes, school supplies, etc. It especially gets fustrating when DH's work slows down and I can't afford things for MY children that I could always afford prior to combining households.
My poor husband was on food stamps for a while for god's sake and this woman just acts like it's not her problem.
I'm right there with you. He
I'm right there with you. He came home with Air Jordans after one visit with her. This was after we asked her to help with school supplies and she said, "that's not my job".
She even sent him home once with two brand new pairs of Nikes in the same size on one visit. It's sad, cause he's so happy and proud and feels like she loves him because she buys him these things. But, if he asks if he can stay over or visit her during a school holiday, she'll say she doesn't have gas money to come pick him up. He's even asked us if he can give his mom some of his allowance money. OH HELL TO THE NO!
My husband has resorted to telling SS13 that it would actually be fun for him if he did go live with his mom then she can do all the homework and kid rearing. Then SS13 could just come over every other weekend and him and SS could just goof off and play. My DH even tells him, he'd love a new car like his mom has - and he'd be able to afford it if he went and lived with his BM. Poor DH works 6 days a week in construction if he has the work, just so we can catch up on all our bills. He gets so upset with his kid and his undieing love for his non-deserving mom.
UUUUHGH!
No, they can not make her get
No, they can not make her get a job. CS is based on the NCP's income and if they are not working they can be imputed to what they would make working 40 hours at a minimum wage job.
If your DH makes $2,500 a month, and BM works only five hours a week, it is highly likely he will get very little in CS from her.
For a rough estimate, I calculated that your DH's gross would be about $3,330 a month, and BM at minimum wage 40 hours a week would be $1,080 a month. I put that into my state's CS calculator and DH would get a whopping $175 a month. You could put the numbers into your state's CS calculator and see what you get.
For what you would spend in legal fees to get CS, it might not even be worth it in the long run.
If we represented ourselves -
If we represented ourselves - which both parties have been doing the entire time- then it could be worth it. They seem to go to court every few months anyway.
Oh! Then go for it! The only
Oh! Then go for it!
The only thing is while the judge would probably not bring up SS again, BM might in retaliation for you filing CS.
That's what I'm concerned
That's what I'm concerned about.
Anyone know when she can stop asking for that?
I am in Pennsylvania and as
I am in Pennsylvania and as soon as the divorce is final so is the S support.
Yuck...hate that you are
Yuck...hate that you are going through this. My skids are grown adults now, I have three. The oldest lived with us full time, the other two with bm. My dh was to pay cs for the two, which he did. She was to pay cs for the son living with us, which she did not...not one check...not one dental or medical bill...nothing. He lived with us for 15 years until he moved out at 23. She never spent a day in jail, she never got in trouble. I would imagine the same would not have occurred with my dh. We let it go, it wasn't worth it, and the amount she was to pay was very little.
Not sure what the law is today, it has been a few years for me. When we had our two, we were told by the judge that our two were not relevant in what my husband had to pay.
Oh, and every time he got a
Oh, and every time he got a raise she hauled him into court to get hers raised. She always won, regardless that she owed us money. One judge actually reduced the amount of money my dh paid to her to make up for what she was not paying. She never took him back to court again.
Go for the CS award against
Go for the CS award against BM. However, they will not force her to get a job. They can depute an income to her for CS calculation purposes. Deputed income when awarded is often set at what she could reasonably earn with full time employement commensurate with her qualifications.
Don't hold your breath though. She is still the golden uterus BM and courts rarely hold them appropriately accountable.
Good luck.