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Sister Paying Too Much in Support and lots of other issues in the custody

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cbastrogal

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Texas/Custody order in Colorado....

This could be somewhat complicated, but I am going to try to give y'all all the information in the simplest way possible. My oldest sister and her husband were divorced in California approx. 10 years ago. After the divorce, my sister's drinking problem progressed to a point where an agreement was made that her ex-husband would take her two boys to live with him in Colorado and that she would move to Texas (where all of us, her family, live) and get her live together. She did and the boys were sent back to her approx a year and a half after she got sober. At that time her ex-husband filed for full custody in Colorado. He was awarded full custody of the boys and she was ordered to pay child support and back child support for the year and a half they were in his care in Colorado while she was getting sober. The amount at that time was around $750.00 per month (support and back support). At was also decreed that it would be taken automatically out of her paycheck. About two years ago, her oldest son and his father were having problems and her ex-husband sent the oldest boy back to his mother. The stipulation being that he would send her back half of the current child support for the son. So the money is garnished from her salary, he gets the money and sends back 50% of current support, which works out to about $229.00. There were a lot of problems with my sister and the son, he was behaving much in the same way with his dad... getting into trouble, doing drugs, etc.... but she stuck with it until this past summer when it became evident he (the son) was in serious trouble. Prior to the summer of '04,her youngest son would always come down and spend the summer with her. According to her ex-husband, due to the problems going on with the older boy and drugs, and the fact that the younger boy in his father's care had been arrested on drug possession charges, the ex was not going to send the younger boy to see his mom for the summer. Instead, he sent him to Colorado to stay with his sister. In the meantime the oldest boy continued to go further downhill until May when my sister called the police on him and he ripped the phone out of the wall. He was charged with interferring with an emergency call and the family's stipulation for bailing him out of jail was to go to a drug rehab facility. He stayed in their a week before his father signed him out, took him to Colorado for a trip and then sent him to my house to go to a volunteer offenders program. That lasted a week here as he was not ready to face those issues and he went back to his dad until his dad couldn't control him anymore, then went to my other sister, that too only lasted about a week before she kicked him out because he was coming in and out at all hours high. Long story short.... he ended back with his mother. In the meantime, things weren't working out with the younger son in Colorado. It seems that the sister his father sent him to in manic depressive and was having her own issues. Discussions were made and the youngest boy asked that he be able to come and live with me, my husband and 2 year old son and attend school. So, he currently resides with us. After the oldest boy turned 18 things just kept going bad with his mom and he decided to go live with his dad (who, by the way bought him a car). So now, the oldest boy is currently staying with a friend of his dad's in Colorado, and dad is going back and forth between Colorado and Texas (where he and his current wife live). He has now decided since the older boy is not living with his mother, he will not be sending her back any portion of the child support check. My sister brings home approx $1,350.00 per month. 1) I don't know how the court could've strapped her with the amount in child support in the beginning.. she is a single middle-aged woman with no college degree and is earning a decent wage, she is not working below her income ability. 2) It seems to me that he is holding all the cards, and now that he is a Texas resident, the case should be reviewed in Texas. 3) Also, neither of the boys live with him - his oldest boy is with a friend, and he has given us temporary guardianship of the youngest, so shouldn't things be changed regarding that? I need some serious advice on how we need to proceed, my sister is in debt up to her eyeballs, and I am tired of sitting back and watching her get screwed!
 


im not a lawyer but...

I'm not a lawyer just a single mom but my guess would be that since he no longer has the boys in his possesion it sounds like its his turn to start paying. sounds like dad could fork over a little cash to you since you have temporary custadoy. and moms payment should not be going to dad. and the boy who is 18 is legally an adult no one should pay support for him he should be on his own. as far as support payments go! good luck!!
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Jennifer,
You can't just guess about things.
The custody case was domesticated to Colorado, currently Colorado has jurisdiction, until it is domesticated elsewhere, even if the father now resides in TX, he has not been there long enough to move the case.
The court orders child support and it is ordered in specific ways. In Colorado a child is not emancipated until age 19, so he is not legally an adult and the child support still goes to dad, even though the child lives elsewhere, he still has many expenses related to the child. While it may be fair to pay the aunt for the younger child, again, that is optional. Either way, mom still owes child support until the court changes the orders and/or mom files to terminate it at age 19. Colorado is a state that allows post secondary support. What seems fair is not necessarily what the specific law or court orders say. So when we give advice, we need to consider the law and what the orders say, not what we think they should be.
 

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