Which state has jurisdiction?

My ex-wife and I lived in KY in 1992 when we separated. She moved back to IL, where we both were originally from. A divorce was issued by the IL court, later that year. Since then I have moved to IA. My ex-wife has also moved to a different part of IA. I have always paid my child support, on time, and maintained contact with my five children through weekly phone calls and monthly visitation.

Now, two of my children are working and have left home. The oldest will be 20 this month and the next will be 18 in November. My ex-wife re-married in 1992, had 2 more children, divorced that guy, shacked up with another and had another child with him. She has never worked and the live in boyfriend doesn’t work, either. The second husband does pay a small amount for their two children.

Our original support agreement was $400 per week. This was greater than 50% of my annual GROSS income, at the time. My income has increased approximately 50% since the divorce, but the child support is still approximately 50% of NET income.

I have two questions. The first is; Is 50% of my NET income a reasonable amount for the support of the remaining 3 children? And second; If I want to modify the support would I go through the IL court or the IA court, and if IA would it be in her county or in mine?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

[LegalBeagle]

Providing there is no outstanding legal action from any other state, then IA has jurisdiction and you should file in her county. How many children do you have to warrent $400 a week ?

Also, just because the child is 20 does not always mean you can stop paying. What are the ages of YOUR children ? What does your agreement state regarding when child support is to end ?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LegalBeagle:
[b]Providing there is no outstanding legal action from any other state, then IA has jurisdiction and you should file in her county. How many children do you have to warrent $400 a week ?

Also, just because the child is 20 does not always mean you can stop paying. What are the ages of YOUR children ? What does your agreement state regarding when child support is to end ?[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have a total of 5 children with my ex-wife. She has had 3 more since the divorce.

My oldest will be 20 this month. She has been on her own for more than 2 years. She has her own job and house. She is also getting married in September.

My second child will be 18 in November. She also left her mother's house and is living with some friends. She has dropped out of school and is now working full time as a CNA.

The other three all live with thier mother. They are 15, 14, and 11.

I think the divorce stated the support would be paid until they are 18. There wasn't anything stated about decreasing it as each one left the house. It did say that it could not be changed without going back to court.

Thanks.

[LegalBeagle]

Then you need to go back to court and have the amount reduced as the two oldest are no longer covered under the child support agreement.

Are there any guidelines to determine the amount of support?

[LegalBeagle]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tim50226:
[b]Are there any guidelines to determine the amount of support?[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There certainly is... check this out first,
[url="http://www.divorcelawinfo.com/states/ia/iowa.htm"]http://www.divorcelawinfo.com/states/ia/iowa.htm[/url]

Thank you for your help. The web site was just what I was looking for.

I think I need to talk to a lawyer.

One thing that confused me was this section:

A State that Entered a Valid Support Order Continues to Have the Power to Modify Child Support.

Once a valid child support order is entered, that state continues to have the power to award child support even though it no longer has contacts with the supporting parent or children.

This sounds like I need to file in the IL court. Or is it my option?

You need to file in Il. (Trust me, we didn't and now my husband owes $60,000 in back child support since Ca. didn't have jurisdiction to modify an Il support order.) Since you both now live in Ia and the children have lived there more than 6 months, you can request that Il allow Ia to take over jurisdiction but they have to give it up. Also, look up Il statutes (http://www.legis.state.il.us/ilcs/ch750/ch750act5articles/ch750act5Sub6.htm) about how they figure child support. It is a set percentage figured by the number of children.
Good Luck

I think my reply didn't get submitted. You do have to have Il do the modification. You can request that they give up jurisdiction to Ia since the children have lived in Ia more than 6 months but Il MUST give up jurisdiction. See Illinois marriage and dissolution statutes to find out what percentage of your income they will take for three children. The statutes will also tell you what you can deduct from you income when figuring the percentage,

Thanks for the information. That cleared things up.

If both parties are in agreement then you can file in IL. BUT, if one party disagrees then they could inform the court in IL that they no longer have jurisdiction under the UCCJA and then force the issue to IA. Also, if after the order, one party refuses to pay, then generally, you would then need to file into IA.

Filing in IA would be best as then no one could disagree. Since there is likely to be further action, then you might as well get your agreement filed into the IA now.

So if I get a lawyer in IA, we could inform the court in IL that they no longer have jurisdiction and handle the whole thing in IA?

[LegalBeagle]

You get an attorney in IA to file your papers in IA and the court in IA will have a hearing to determine if they should take jusridiction. You ex could oppose if they have reason, like the move is temporary etc.. but if there is no proof, then IA will take jusridiction.

Thanks for clearing that up.