Child Support

My husband agreed to a previous custody and child support agreement with his ex-wife regarding my two step children in a Delaware court. He has been divorced for seven years and the children are now 10 and 11 years old. We have them (visitation) 4 days out of the 7 day week, including every weekend. He pays over $1200.00 month in child support. His ex-wife just recently built a new home in Maryland with her live in boyfriend. Our question is can support be reduced since we have them the majority of the time? Or is it reduced, as they grow older? Also, at what age can the children state where they wish their primary residence is? Both children prefer to be in our household, but we do not want to have to put them through difficult court proceedings and testimonies...We were not sure what laws would govern since the original order was in Delaware and she has now moved to Maryland. We appreciate any assistance. Thank you.

[LegalBeagle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jl:
[b]My husband agreed to a previous custody and child support agreement with his ex-wife regarding my two step children in a Delaware court. He has been divorced for seven years and the children are now 10 and 11 years old. We have them (visitation) 4 days out of the 7 day week, including every weekend. He pays over $1200.00 month in child support. His ex-wife just recently built a new home in Maryland with her live in boyfriend. Our question is can support be reduced since we have them the majority of the time? Or is it reduced, as they grow older? Also, at what age can the children state where they wish their primary residence is? Both children prefer to be in our household, but we do not want to have to put them through difficult court proceedings and testimonies...We were not sure what laws would govern since the original order was in Delaware and she has now moved to Maryland. We appreciate any assistance. Thank you.[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If the visitation is court ordered that you have them 4 out of 7 then you should be able to reduce the CS amount. When petitioning to modify the CS include a petition to deviate from CS guidelines if Maryland does not have a time split factored into it.

However, if it is not court ordered that you have them 4 days out of 7 then check the actual court order. I guarentee you, if you are only supposed to have them 2 days every other weekend, then the moment you file to LOWER CS, she will stop the extra visitation and therefore null your petition.

CS increases as the children get older. Something about wanting designer cloths..

Age ?? always a tough question.. Of course the mother will fight it.. she is not able to lose 1200 a month and then have to pay you. So, until the children are approx 14, I would advise against trying.

If the mother has been in Maryland for at least 6 months and there has been no other court cases then Maryland will have jurisdiction.



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Psst.. I am not an attorney, and even if I was, I would not tell you. What I am giving you is not legal advice in anyway. For proper legal advice, retain a person who openly admits they are an attorney.