North Carolina CS question:

[dave.j]

3 kids. Ages 3-8. Divorced 2.5 happy years. I currently pay 1200$ a month for their CS, however I rarely pay her that. Usually I send 1400-1600$. Sometimes more.

I have them aprox 80 days a year, per custody papers, but I watch them more often than that, we live real close. For example, to save in Daycare, I watched the youngest twice a week during the day for semester.

For the year we were separated, we "agreed" on 1700$ for CS in the seps agreement. After the divorce was signed, she went to court in a different state. First the judge told her 950$, but somehow she got the court to adjust it to 1200$. I was not in the state at the time.

I live off of disability, around 3200$ a month, and go to school on the P9-11 GI bill, and the allowance I get from that is around 1300$, for every full month of school. So, between semester I don't receive that check. She makes between 1400-1600$. I'm not sure because she never really tells me. My mom sends her 700$ to help. The kids have insurance through the state. Because it is summer, Daycare went from 1300$ to 1900$. I also happened to pay her the 1200$ this month. So....now she is threatening to go to court. I have NEVER missed a payment, and I have given her much more than was required.
No other kids, both of us are single.
My questions are;

Should I just send her the $$ she wants, or agree to go to court? I don't want to end up paying the 1700$ again.
Will extra funds that I can prove I have payed through wireless transfer, be considered at all in court?
Will my Mom's generous 700$ a month be considered on her side?
Should I spend the $$ on a lawyer? (Or) Since most charge hourly, what kind of hours/$$ am I looking at?
I have tried the calculators but they really don't help. I realize a judge can decide any # of things. I am just trying to get an idea.

 

[QuiGonJinn]

You only have to follow the current order. If the order is $1200 and you paying more than that rest is a gift. The money from your mother is a gift also. She can't seek retroactive support so it doesn't matter if "counts" because there is nothing for it to count to. North Carolina CS 99%+ of the time follow the guidelines.

I'm not all that sure if the court will count the part of the GI benefit that is for education as income. If you getting a BAH with the Edu part (which I think you do), then the BAH part is income for sure. It is easy enough to plug the incomes into the calculator and see what you would owe.

The part you mentioned about her seeking a support order in another state doesn't make since. For one thing, you indicated she still lives close by to you in NC. Even if she moved NC would still have jurisdiction of support, they would maintain continued exclusive jurisdiction as long as you remained in the state.

 

[Ohiogal]

3 kids. Ages 3-8. Divorced 2.5 happy years. I currently pay 1200$ a month for their CS, however I rarely pay her that. Usually I send 1400-1600$. Sometimes more.

I have them aprox 80 days a year, per custody papers, but I watch them more often than that, we live real close. For example, to save in Daycare, I watched the youngest twice a week during the day for semester.

For the year we were separated, we "agreed" on 1700$ for CS in the seps agreement. After the divorce was signed, she went to court in a different state. First the judge told her 950$, but somehow she got the court to adjust it to 1200$. I was not in the state at the time.

I live off of disability, around 3200$ a month, and go to school on the P9-11 GI bill, and the allowance I get from that is around 1300$, for every full month of school. So, between semester I don't receive that check. She makes between 1400-1600$. I'm not sure because she never really tells me. My mom sends her 700$ to help. The kids have insurance through the state. Because it is summer, Daycare went from 1300$ to 1900$. I also happened to pay her the 1200$ this month. So....now she is threatening to go to court. I have NEVER missed a payment, and I have given her much more than was required.
No other kids, both of us are single.
My questions are;

Should I just send her the $$ she wants, or agree to go to court? I don't want to end up paying the 1700$ again.
Will extra funds that I can prove I have payed through wireless transfer, be considered at all in court?
Will my Mom's generous 700$ a month be considered on her side?
Should I spend the $$ on a lawyer? (Or) Since most charge hourly, what kind of hours/$$ am I looking at?
I have tried the calculators but they really don't help. I realize a judge can decide any # of things. I am just trying to get an idea.

REAL parents don't watch their children. They PARENT them. Are you a parent or a babysitter? Based on this, you are nothing but a babysitter and don't want to be a parent.

 

[dave.j]

You only have to follow the current order. If the order is $1200 and you paying more than that rest is a gift. The money from your mother is a gift also. She can't seek retroactive support so it doesn't matter if "counts" because there is nothing for it to count to. North Carolina CS 99%+ of the time follow the guidelines.

I'm not all that sure if the court will count the part of the GI benefit that is for education as income. If you getting a BAH with the Edu part (which I think you do), then the BAH part is income for sure. It is easy enough to plug the incomes into the calculator and see what you would owe.

The part you mentioned about her seeking a support order in another state doesn't make since. For one thing, you indicated she still lives close by to you in NC. Even if she moved NC would still have jurisdiction of support, they would maintain continued exclusive jurisdiction as long as you remained in the state.

Thank you for clearing that up. When I came back from Afghan, she was in Louisiana. After the separation was over, we got divorced in La. So, the court in La said 1200$. About 8 mo later, I drove down to Louisiana and moved her to NC so we could be closer. So it was in La, that the CS was issued.

 

[Silverplum]

If neither of you live in LA, you may want to consult a local attorney about transferring your case to NC.