Step parents rights

What is the name of your state? ca
My husband pays a court ordered child support amount for his daughter from his first marriage. We are fine paying this amount but have concerns based on new developments. The ex-wife recently filed for state assistance and the D.A.s office began pursuing my husband for an amount higher than the court ordered amount. After a lengthy appeal and a wage garnishment they amended the amount to the court ordered amount. Now they are ordering him to pay for health insurance - approx. $125 a month for his daughter. The court order states that this is a shred responsibility so why is he being held solely responsible.

Bottom line is we have 4 children of our own and I am currently a homemaker, we are solely supported by his income as it is more economical that I stay home as daycare costs are to costly. The ex-wife's history shows unstable employment although the child is in school and she has that time to work with if anything. Where are the limits in what the father has to pay if the mother neglects to share the responsibility?

I have been contemplating working but have concerns. Would his ex-wife be able to base claims of increased child support based on my income. Does the court even consider our children? I do understand that they are the Primary family however I am unclear how far that can go. I have the opportunity to work from home and achieve financial stability for my family - would I just be setting myself up for his ex-wife to come and claim rights to my income? Does my income entitle her to more of his income?

Thank you so much for any input!!!!

[VeronicaGia]

[url]http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html[/url]

Click on "family codes" then click search. Read everything you can about child support, health care coverage, etc. Bookmark the site because you can refer to it any time you want.

Secondly, if your husband is supporting his child, why didn't CA tell her to go take a hike? Is he paying support through the courts or directly to her?

Secondly, ordering the NCP to pay health insurance is standard in CA, as it is in many other if not all states. Usually, the court takes this premium into consideration when ordering support. On your husbands latest income and expense declaration, did he mention how much he pays in premiums? Also on the income & expense declaration, there is a place for hardship deductions. Your husband should have listed all of his children who were not subject to this support award. Also, wasn't your husband already covering the children you have with him? If so, why such a large premium - wouldn't the child be grandfathered under the "family" plan?

As far as your income is concerned, CA can take it into consideration for a couple of reasons. First, it will increase household income (which is not good for your husband's support case) or it can increase the amount of taxes you and he pay (which can be good for his support case, since no one has control over federal taxes one must pay).

What I will tell you is that I personally would absolutely refuse to show any of my income on any support order, since I am not the one being ordered to show my income, but that's just me. They can kiss my you-know-what! You are not responsible for supporting any children that are not yours....period.

A good website for you: [url]www.deltabravo.net/custody/[/url]

Post this on the "Dear Socrateaser" board, however, before posting, please read his mandatory posting guidelines. Be short, to the point, and number your questions.

It sounds to me like your husband was screwed..did he have an attorney? He needs one. There is no reason she should be collecting government assistance if he is paying all of his support on time and in full every month.

Best of luck.