Can I make a lump sum payment?

[jamiimaj]

What is the name of your state? California

My husband and I are moving from California to Iowa. My husband currently has his support payments deducted from his check. (Voluntarily) We are buying a home and he would like to take out some extra money and pay his ex a large lump sum. (He wants to do this so she can get their son into a home...also the reason he took their tax debt in the divorce in the first place and nothing came to fruition.)(He also has some lingering tax debt from their marriage and I'm leaning toward paying that and continuing to pay her in installments.)
Is it legal to pay her a lump sum? I am worried that she could still haul him back to court and we would eat the lump sum. ANY information, opinions and advice is gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

 

[seniorjudge]

Obviously, if he pays her anything that is supposed to be child support, then it should be clearly marked and provable as such.


Q: Is it legal to pay her a lump sum?

A: Yes; he can pay in advance as much as he wants. When that part is used up, he will have to continue paying her the amount stated in the judgment of the lawsuit.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? California

My husband and I are moving from California to Iowa. My husband currently has his support payments deducted from his check. (Voluntarily) We are buying a home and he would like to take out some extra money and pay his ex a large lump sum. (He wants to do this so she can get their son into a home...also the reason he took their tax debt in the divorce in the first place and nothing came to fruition.)(He also has some lingering tax debt from their marriage and I'm leaning toward paying that and continuing to pay her in installments.)
Is it legal to pay her a lump sum? I am worried that she could still haul him back to court and we would eat the lump sum. ANY information, opinions and advice is gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

Lump sums can be problematic....and definitely can cause confusion with CS agencies. Therefore I generally recommend against it. It is possible that you could end up eating the lump sum.....or have to spend major bucks in court sometime down the road to prove that it was advance child support rather than a gift. Its even possible that the CS agency would hold on to the "extra" rather than give it to her, and eventually reimburse it to him.

 

[brisgirl825]

Read this...

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=289049

 

[seniorjudge]

Lump sums can be problematic....and definitely can cause confusion with CS agencies. Therefore I generally recommend against it. It is possible that you could end up eating the lump sum.....or have to spend major bucks in court sometime down the road to prove that it was advance child support rather than a gift. Its even possible that the CS agency would hold on to the "extra" rather than give it to her, and eventually reimburse it to him.

I certainly agree with everything you say.

However, nothing in OP's post indicates that the CS is going through an agency.

OP did say, "My husband currently has his support payments deducted from his check." Does that mean the CS agency is involved?

 

[jamiimaj]

lump sum agency reply

I'm not certain what you mean by CS going through an agency. They went to court, agreed on an amount and the way he chose to pay it was to have it automaticly deducted from his check. This system will be disrupted when we move as he will be changing jobs. I'm not sure how the logistics work and I am hoping we don't have to do a bunch of flying back here to ammend stuff.

 

[xKellyx]

I'm not certain what you mean by CS going through an agency. They went to court, agreed on an amount and the way he chose to pay it was to have it automaticly deducted from his check. This system will be disrupted when we move as he will be changing jobs. I'm not sure how the logistics work and I am hoping we don't have to do a bunch of flying back here to ammend stuff.

If it is going to help his son to pay the lump sum, then pay it, with a letter stating that its for child support until a certain date, get that letter notorized and mail it to her certified mail, make sure to keep a copy of the cancelled check and make sure it says on the check "child support." HOPEFULLY, the mother will use this lump sum to buy her son a decent home to live in.

 

[brisgirl825]

If the support is being automatically deducted, then a third party has to be handling the money in order for it to go to mom.
He doesn't get the money back from his employer to write mom a check. The employer sends it to the state agency that handles support disbursement.

The first thing that needs to be done is have dad talk to that agency. Otherwise, when the payment stops, the agency will assume that dad is going into arrears, not that he has paid a lump sum.

 

[Mbarr]

You should also keep in mind that child support is modifiable; therefore you cannot prospectively say that child support will be the same amount in 12 months or 24 months, etc. Your lump sum may not constitute a total payment of child support if cs is modified.