Child Support Agreement

[MixMan]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Here is my question regarding my child support agreement, and to be very honest I'm not expecting to her the answer that will satisfy me, but at the same time I want to hear an objective opinion based on knowledge of law and not opinions, sympathies and other stuff. well, here we go:

"...In addition and separate from child support, Father shall contribute $420 to offset the cost of day care for minor child. Paragraph B Section 6 shall be reviewable when minor child starts 1st grade, or earlier if there is a change in the cost of day-care..."

The child is 7 years old going on 8 and will start 2nd grade this year. He is in afterschool program. Is that considered day-care (verbatim as it states in the divorce agreement Section 6 Para. B? Am I legally obligated to pay that expense on top of my child support without it being written on paper?

Note: nowhere in the rest of the agreement does it say that I should reimburse any other fees aside from child support and day-care.

Thank you for your replies,

M.

 

[single317dad]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Here is my question regarding my child support agreement, and to be very honest I'm not expecting to her the answer that will satisfy me, but at the same time I want to hear an objective opinion based on knowledge of law and not opinions, sympathies and other stuff. well, here we go:

"...In addition and separate from child support, Father shall contribute $420 to offset the cost of day care for minor child. Paragraph B Section 6 shall be reviewable when minor child starts 1st grade, or earlier if there is a change in the cost of day-care..."

The child is 7 years old going on 8 and will start 2nd grade this year. He is in afterschool program. Is that considered day-care (verbatim as it states in the divorce agreement Section 6 Para. B? Am I legally obligated to pay that expense on top of my child support without it being written on paper?

Note: nowhere in the rest of the agreement does it say that I should reimburse any other fees aside from child support and day-care.

Thank you for your replies,

M.

As the order clearly states, you should return to court for a review of the daycare expense (and in fact should have done so a year ago). Expect the daycare stipend to be reduced or eliminated and to be responsible for all or part of the cost of the after-school program. The base support amount may also change if your income has changed or if you're ordered to contribute to medical insurance.

 

[MixMan]

Heey

Thank you for the reply,

As of right now we are splitting the cost of afterschool 50/50. The reason behind starting this topic was that I am currently paying $ 465 in child support; $ 150 in after school program; and $ 200 in retroactive child support. The reasoning for retroactive was that in the mean time (between her filing for child support and final agreement), I reverted to paying $ 250/mo (which constitutes to difference between my single rate and married rate Basic Allowance for Housing or BAH, yes I am in the military). The reason I did that was because I was emotionally drained from arguing her constant demands for more money (in 2012 I paid her approx. $1250/mo with no established order and we were separated (not legally) but yet she wanted more and more...) so like said I reverted back to the difference in BAH with/without dependents. Hired an attorney for the divorce process and he couldn't even prove that based on the ruled amount of child support (by the court) and the amount I paid her in 2012, absolutely offset the amount underpaid in 2013, so that's why I ended up with $ 5k in retroactive child support. Yet I come to find out that she bought herself a condo in uptown area of Chicago and rolling around in Infinity FX35, while working as an accountant assistant in Whole Foods Market. By the was our child is enrolled in public school, so where do al the money go? Oh wait a sec to pay for that Infinity and that condo probably, that's simply unfair...

 

[TheGeekess]

Thank you for the reply,

As of right now we are splitting the cost of afterschool 50/50. The reason behind starting this topic was that I am currently paying $ 465 in child support; $ 150 in after school program; and $ 200 in retroactive child support. The reasoning for retroactive was that in the mean time (between her filing for child support and final agreement), I reverted to paying $ 250/mo (which constitutes to difference between my single rate and married rate Basic Allowance for Housing or BAH, yes I am in the military). The reason I did that was because I was emotionally drained from arguing her constant demands for more money (in 2012 I paid her approx. $1250/mo with no established order and we were separated (not legally) but yet she wanted more and more...) so like said I reverted back to the difference in BAH with/without dependents. Hired an attorney for the divorce process and he couldn't even prove that based on the ruled amount of child support (by the court) and the amount I paid her in 2012, absolutely offset the amount underpaid in 2013, so that's why I ended up with $ 5k in retroactive child support. Yet I come to find out that she bought herself a condo in uptown area of Chicago and rolling around in Infinity FX35, while working as an accountant assistant in Whole Foods Market. By the was our child is enrolled in public school, so where do al the money go? Oh wait a sec to pay for that Infinity and that condo probably, that's simply unfair...

Unfair that your child has a home and private transportation? Would you prefer that the child live in a tenement and have to ride the El everywhere?

 

[Silverplum]

Thank you for the reply,

As of right now we are splitting the cost of afterschool 50/50. The reason behind starting this topic was that I am currently paying $ 465 in child support; $ 150 in after school program; and $ 200 in retroactive child support. The reasoning for retroactive was that in the mean time (between her filing for child support and final agreement), I reverted to paying $ 250/mo (which constitutes to difference between my single rate and married rate Basic Allowance for Housing or BAH, yes I am in the military). The reason I did that was because I was emotionally drained from arguing her constant demands for more money (in 2012 I paid her approx. $1250/mo with no established order and we were separated (not legally) but yet she wanted more and more...) so like said I reverted back to the difference in BAH with/without dependents. Hired an attorney for the divorce process and he couldn't even prove that based on the ruled amount of child support (by the court) and the amount I paid her in 2012, absolutely offset the amount underpaid in 2013, so that's why I ended up with $ 5k in retroactive child support. Yet I come to find out that she bought herself a condo in uptown area of Chicago and rolling around in Infinity FX35, while working as an accountant assistant in Whole Foods Market. By the was our child is enrolled in public school, so where do al the money go? Oh wait a sec to pay for that Infinity and that condo probably, that's simply unfair...

How she spends her money is none of your business.

Child support is to REIMBURSE the custodial parent for some of the expenses of the child/ren. If you don't like your amount, motion for a reduction or reconsideration.

 

[MixMan]

Unfair that your child has a home and private transportation? Would you prefer that the child live in a tenement and have to ride the El everywhere?

No, I think that it is unfair that she pays her car note with the money meant for the child, I know that she doesn't make enough to afford a 2015 Infinity, so my concern is that she is spending our child's money for her own "wants." Transportation is considered to be a vehicle that she can afford, but I guess this argument is going to be deemed invalid... oh well

 

[Silverplum]

No, I think that it is unfair that she pays her car note with the money meant for the child, I know that she doesn't make enough to afford a 2015 Infinity, so my concern is that she is spending our child's money for her own "wants." Transportation is considered to be a vehicle that she can afford, but I guess this argument is going to be deemed invalid... oh well

Show us the law in your state that says, "Transportation is...a vehicle that (she) can afford." And then show us how you calculate her budget.

 

[single317dad]

Thank you for the reply,

As of right now we are splitting the cost of afterschool 50/50. The reason behind starting this topic was that I am currently paying $ 465 in child support; $ 150 in after school program; and $ 200 in retroactive child support. The reasoning for retroactive was that in the mean time (between her filing for child support and final agreement), I reverted to paying $ 250/mo (which constitutes to difference between my single rate and married rate Basic Allowance for Housing or BAH, yes I am in the military). The reason I did that was because I was emotionally drained from arguing her constant demands for more money (in 2012 I paid her approx. $1250/mo with no established order and we were separated (not legally) but yet she wanted more and more...) so like said I reverted back to the difference in BAH with/without dependents. Hired an attorney for the divorce process and he couldn't even prove that based on the ruled amount of child support (by the court) and the amount I paid her in 2012, absolutely offset the amount underpaid in 2013, so that's why I ended up with $ 5k in retroactive child support. Yet I come to find out that she bought herself a condo in uptown area of Chicago and rolling around in Infinity FX35, while working as an accountant assistant in Whole Foods Market. By the was our child is enrolled in public school, so where do al the money go? Oh wait a sec to pay for that Infinity and that condo probably, that's simply unfair...

Did you come here looking for legal advice or a place to vent? Because there are a lot of better places to vent.

If you need advice on a legal proceeding, please clearly state your question with a brief explanation of the relevant surrounding circumstances. Thanks!

 

[Just Blue]

No, I think that it is unfair that she pays her car note with the money meant for the child, I know that she doesn't make enough to afford a 2015 Infinity, so my concern is that she is spending our child's money for her own "wants." Transportation is considered to be a vehicle that she can afford, but I guess this argument is going to be deemed invalid... oh well

Get over it. Really.

 

[tuffbrk]

You should be paying approximately 20% of your income in CS. AS for the daycare costs - is her income the same as yours and that is why you're each paying 50%?? Who is paying for medical? For all you know, she's earning more than you or her boss is paying her car note. Don't make assumptions...

 

[stealth2]

that's simply unfair...

Whoever advised you that life is fair did you a disservice. Never has been, never will be.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Also remember, should you go back to court on *this* issue, you are opening up the door for child support to be recalculated. If your income has increased, so will you child support.

 

[MixMan]

Show us the law in your state that says, "Transportation is...a vehicle that (she) can afford." And then show us how you calculate her budget.

Speaking in terms of law you are correct.

 

[MixMan]

You should be paying approximately 20% of your income in CS. AS for the daycare costs - is her income the same as yours and that is why you're each paying 50%?? Who is paying for medical? For all you know, she's earning more than you or her boss is paying her car note. Don't make assumptions...

I am paying 20% of my income as a child support. I was also very uneducated on the matter during the time of my divorce and on top of that had an attorney who in my opinion was there just for the check mark and to show up to court. The reason I'm saying this is because he did not make a single proposal during the time of our terms negotiation, or advised me on what would be a better action to take. Bottom line is as of today I'm paying $ 463.86 in child support + 50% of education costs + $ 200 in retroactive child support (read previous posts on that matter if interested), until Nov 2016 + she is trying to occasionally "milk" me for random fees (like swimming lessons, summer camp registration fees... etc.). I call them random because of the fact that she already gets close to $ 900/mo from me as it is and I only make $ 2500 plus have another child that I need to feed. So with that being said does anyone think that in my situation it would be even wise to go to court and re-open the case in order to get some reduction on child support or is that pretty much the best I'm going to get?

To answer a question about medical my son is covered under Tricare medical plan and is able to go to the hospital anywhere. At the same time she refuses to use that plan for whatever reason and is purchasing health insurance through her employer periodically attempting to get more money from me for medical expenses that she uses her plan for and has boat-load of co-pays, while if my insurance was used it would be all 100% covered. But that is besides the point, just to answer the question about medical.

As far as earning more than me, I doubt it, she is getting that child support and all other money from me so that gives her the freedom of spending, or like you've said her boss is paying that car note in exchange... (not gonna go there). But that's none of my business.