Ex-Father-Inlaw Taking Me To Court

[FatherHusband79]

I am not lying about anything stated here today. I would not waste someone's time like that. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

 

[LillianX]

I understand. I'm sorry for jumping on you. Your wording made it sound like visitation was court ordered.

 

[FatherHusband79]

It's okay. I understand, I should have stated that when you asked me what the court order states; it just states that (I've left out names):


8. Petitioner (1), shall be designated the residential parent and legal custodian of the parties’ minor child, DOB: 10/20/2004.

9. Petitioner (2), shall be entitled to parenting time, visitation and companionship with the parties’ minor child as agreed upon between the parties. If the parties cannot agree, then parenting time, visitation and companionship shall be according to the Standard Rules of Visitation of Henry County attached hereto as Exhibit B and adopted as if rewritten herein.

10. Petitioner (2), shall pay child support in the amount of sixty-two dollars and seventy-five cents ($62.75) per week, plus a 2% processing fee of one dollar and twenty-six cents ($1.26) per week for a total of sixty-four dollars and one cent ($64.01) per week to the mother through the Defiance County Child Support Enforcement Agency. Any money not paid through the Defiance County Child Support Enforcement Agency shall be considered a gift and shall not be credited as part of the child support obligation. Said child support shall cease when graduates from high school, reaches the age of eighteen (18), or is otherwise emancipated.

 

[LdiJ]

I had thought of doing this AND I had thought about filing a 10-99 for all the child care expenses or claiming them on my taxes but since I have not paid any child care expenses to him this year, I am a little too late on that.


I need all the suggestions I can get on how to win this case. I am rather confident that if I state my case in full truth and tell it how it is, I can win, but going into this I have no idea what my ex father-inlaw is going to say and how much he may possibly bend the truth.

Just FYI dad, it is not appropriate to issue a 1099 for a daycare provider and as the non-custodial parent (under the IRS definition of non-custodial parent) you may NEVER claim a child care credit on your tax return. So don't go there.

You need to make your case as simple as possible. 1) There was no verbal contract between you and grandpa for you to pay grandpa for babysitting. 2) You had no court ordered obligation to pay for daycare at all.

Grandpa will state his case, you will state yours and then it will come down to credibility in great part.

I do think that the fact that you paid him for quite some time could be problematic and indicative of a verbal contract. The letter you wrote to mom, unfortunately, would not vacate a verbal contract between you and grandpa. Mom and grandpa are separate people.

 

[FatherHusband79]

Okay on the 1099. Will not pursue that option at all.

Like I said, there was no verbal contract between ex father-inlaw and I. I was told, by ex-wife, to pay ex father-inlaw and I agreed to doing so as long as I could financially and until he went to school full time. This conversation and agreement happened between ex-wife and I and nobody else. That is why I sent the certified letter to ex-wife and not to the grandpa.

I understand how it looks since I did pay him for so long, but I didn't pay for the babysitting when I was laid off, which shows I stuck to my word about only paying if I was financially stable, I started paying again when I got a new job and had an income again. I stopped paying in the fall of 2010 when our son went to full time kindergarten, like I told my ex-wife I would. I attempted to re-discuss and come to a mutual agreement on child care providers in fall 2010, like I told her we would do when he went to school fulltime, and since every suggestion I had was shot down, I told her in Nov. 2010 I was done paying and she is responsible for all child care expenses and needs during her parenting time, per our Divorce Decree.

 

[FatherHusband79]

Thanks!

Thank you everyone for your advice.

We will have to wait 7-10 business days for the Judge to make his decision, but it sounds like it went in my favor.

The Judge continually said "You should have got it in writing," and at the end also said "You cannot put a price tag on time spent with your grandson." He also asked me to read the Decree word for word on what all the Child Support covers. He made it clear to both my ex father in-law and my ex-wife (who testified on behalf of her father) that it states in the Decree that I do not have to pay for child care since the child support covers providing shelter for our son, which providing shelter constitutes as child care since she is taking our son to a safe place that will provide shelter for our son.

Seems like it went in my favor, now just the waiting game for his decision in writing.

Thanks again for all your suggestions and advice.