This makes no sense to me..

What is the name of your state? Florida

How can a judge order a married man to pay his wife alimony, despite the fact that he is still paying all of her bills and supporting her financially? How does it make sense that she has 2 jobs, and yet her husband has been ordered by the court to pay alimony and child support leaving him with only $400 a month to survive on? Since this order for child support and alimony has been placed, does this mean that they are legally separated now? Any help would be appreciated.

[Jeter]

How can a judge order a married man to pay his wife alimony, despite the fact that he is still paying all of her bills and supporting her financially?

*A- Because he is not doing so as ordered by judgement from a court of law, which means he can decide to stop paying those bills anytime he wishes. A judgement will guarantee payment.

How does it make sense that she has 2 jobs, and yet her husband has been ordered by the court to pay alimony and child support leaving him with only $400 a month to survive on?

*A- The courts aren't concerned about his financial well being. Only the well being of the child. Spousal support is usually awarded to the partner who makes the least, so her 2 jobs must not equal your one. Either that or one of her jobs is off the books.

Since this order for child support and alimony has been placed, does this mean that they are legally separated now?

*A- No. They are two seperate orders. Alimony and child support can be determined before seperation is finalized.

That makes perfect sense. Thank you.

What I'm concerned about is this: are there any legal steps that can be taken so that he has enough income to support himself? He's already been told that if he gets another job, his payments will go up. So he's in a catch-22..

[gobonas99]

"are there any legal steps that can be taken so that he has enough income to support himself?"

Yep...you said yourself that "he is still paying all of her bills and supporting her financially". So...unless there is something in the court order that says that his alimony and child support amounts are based on him paying those other bills...he should ONLY pay what is court ordered - which from your posts is the alimony and the child support - and STOP paying the other bills.

IE if alimony is $400 a month and child support is $600 a month, and he is VOLUNTARILY paying the rent and the utilities and the phone bills of $600 a month, leaving him only $400 a month...then if he STOPS paying those EXTRA bills, he will have $1000 left every month, rather than $400.

-Christina

I understand that. He was ordered to stop paying her bills and instead give her $500 a month for alimony and $804 a month for child support. That leaves him with an average of $400 a month to live on. We are just trying to figure out what he can do, and if there's any point in proving that the support orders are burying him and making him unable to care for himself.

[Jeter]

Again, the courts are NOT concerned about his financial well being. do an internet search on this subject and you will find articles about men commiting suicide because they lost everything due to payments mandated by the courts.

The small ray of good news is that upwardly modified child support amounts do not automatically come out of his pay just because his salary has gone up, or because he gets a second job. In order for him to pay more money based upon the state mandated percentage, his ex must file for a modification and then another order must be put in place raising the support amount. So if he wants to enjoy some semblance of financial relief he should get another job and not make her aware of it. However, she may decide to file for a modification every year and unless he withholds his other financial info (illegal) then he will have to pay a modified amount. His best bet is to try not to piss her off so that she tries to get anything she can.

In taking an offensive position, he could also file for support modificaton if there are additional temporary payments (i.e., childcare) included in the amount he is paying which would no longer be necesary after a period of time. Also, if her financial position has improved, his spousal support payments may be lowered or discontinued.

I understand that the courts don't give a rat's ass about the father or his financial well-being, especially if he is the non-custodial parent. The only time they care is when the payments aren't made. *sigh* I'm trying everything I can to help him out here, but she is vindictive and has already taken everything from him. If he gets a second job, he has to report it to the state. Wouldn't they be able to increase it without her instigating it? He can't afford a lawyer due to this, and he "has too high of an income" to get pro bono legal help. Damn these double standards! Oh, the other ray of sunshine here is that his wife is from Guam and is considered to be a minority. A single minority mother with 3 children? Yeah... she's going to get a free ride for the rest of her life via the state.

I suppose 'they' are right: Life's not fair.

Thanks for your help.

[Jeter]

First let me say that he's lucky to have someone like you who would go out of her way to get all of this info.

Regarding child support, the state will not automatically increase his payments. For instance, if his support payments are $500 and he makes $50,000 and then he gets a $50,000 raise, his payments will remain the same until a motion for modification is filed. At that point his payments would increase.

By the way, she isn't awarded spousal support or child support based upon being a minority.

Thanks for the compliment. I've been trying really hard to help him through all of this. He works 12 hour days and doesn't have time to find out all of this information.

I appreciate the quick answer. I was hoping you'd say that!
Alos, I know she wasn't awarded the support because she is a minority, but in the state of Florida, minorities are a priority when it comes to public assistance and related programs.

[Jeter]

You are a minority- you're a woman ! But i think I know what you mean. She's got double minority status. Programs are set up like that everywhere, not just in FL.

Very true on both counts! I appreciate all of your help. I'm sure we will again cross paths on this board. (Probably sooner than later with all the research I am doing!) Always a pleasure, Jeter...

unless NYS is differnt then all the outher states, they can , and did. My suport payments went up without a court order. I'M also paying suport on a non court order. Of corse NYS DSS is who is doing this, no way to stop the goverment I gess. She went on welfare, so there is nothing I can do. yes the court did set a payment for $###, they just raised it on there own. The court order said suport for child 1+2, nothing about #3+4. NYS just took it anyway.

[Jeter]

You got hosed because I'm paying child support on a NY order and my support never went up on its own. You should investigate the reason and where the order is from- Family services?