Summer daycare

[Momto1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I have physical and legal custody of my child with visitation set for the NCP for every other weekend. We currently have a child support order also, however the last time we went to court, which was last year, the judge said since summer daycare wasn't set up for this summer (2010) then she couldn't add it into the order. I was asking that since we don't always need the full time care in the summer we would only be using drop in days could it be put in the order that NCP would be required to a pay a portion of the daycare. The judge said again since she didn't know what the summer daycare would be or what ncp or I would be making at that time she couldn't put it into the order.
When we left the courthouse that day I asked NCP if they would help with summer daycare when needed and they said yes they would split the cost.
Well here we are last week of summer and I have already paid for ALL of the summer daycare and have been giving NCP the copy of paid checks as well with basically a running totally of what the half would be. Now NCP is telling me well it's not in the court order so I don't actually have to pay it.

My question is if I were to file in court would it be retro active to the beginning of the summer? Or do I need to suck it up as a lesson learned and jsut file next year to have next year's summer included?

 

[nextwife]

Were you working this summer? Is the summer day care during your workdays?

 

[Momto1]

Were you working this summer? Is the summer day care during your workdays?

Yes I work fulltime Mon- Fri. I was hoping to be able to use family like I have in the past and I was able to for a few days here and there but the majority of the summer I used the babysitter and also our daughter went to friends houses a few times. Even stayed with a friend for a week while I was at work because our sitter was on vacation.

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I have physical and legal custody of my child with visitation set for the NCP for every other weekend. We currently have a child support order also, however the last time we went to court, which was last year, the judge said since summer daycare wasn't set up for this summer (2010) then she couldn't add it into the order. I was asking that since we don't always need the full time care in the summer we would only be using drop in days could it be put in the order that NCP would be required to a pay a portion of the daycare. The judge said again since she didn't know what the summer daycare would be or what ncp or I would be making at that time she couldn't put it into the order.
When we left the courthouse that day I asked NCP if they would help with summer daycare when needed and they said yes they would split the cost.
Well here we are last week of summer and I have already paid for ALL of the summer daycare and have been giving NCP the copy of paid checks as well with basically a running totally of what the half would be. Now NCP is telling me well it's not in the court order so I don't actually have to pay it.

My question is if I were to file in court would it be retro active to the beginning of the summer? Or do I need to suck it up as a lesson learned and jsut file next year to have next year's summer included?

It is very difficult to get a retroactive ruling.

I'm confused as to why the judge wouldn't put summer day care into the order. It happens all the time. The judge most certainly can order: "each parent pays 1/2 of daycare expenses during the summer break from school" or whatever the exact wording is. I suspect that there's more going on than that.

 

[Momto1]

It is very difficult to get a retroactive ruling.

I'm confused as to why the judge wouldn't put summer day care into the order. It happens all the time. The judge most certainly can order: "each parent pays 1/2 of daycare expenses during the summer break from school" or whatever the exact wording is. I suspect that there's more going on than that.

Our CO says in the comments section at the bottom. "No summer daycare order, due to no summer daycare at this time."

We have b&a school care in the order but not summer.

 

[LdiJ]

Our CO says in the comments section at the bottom. "No summer daycare order, due to no summer daycare at this time."

We have b&a school care in the order but not summer.

Then you need to file now, to have summer daycare included in the order...not wait until next year. It won't help you for this summer, but you should have something in place then by next summer.

 

[Momto1]

Then you need to file now, to have summer daycare included in the order...not wait until next year. It won't help you for this summer, but you should have something in place then by next summer.

That's what I figured. I would have to eat it this summer. I'm just frustrated because even at the beginning of this summer I wouldn't have known how often I would have needed to use the sitter.

 

[mistoffolees]

Our CO says in the comments section at the bottom. "No summer daycare order, due to no summer daycare at this time."

We have b&a school care in the order but not summer.

That was a foolish thing for the judge to do. He could just as easily have said that summer daycare, if any, would be split.

 

[Momto1]

That was a foolish thing for the judge to do. He could just as easily have said that summer daycare, if any, would be split.

NCP and I both said the same and that's why I asked if he would pay and he agreed. He has only paid a little-$35 as of right now.

 

[Momto1]

So I am filing so that next summer will be taken care of. However the past few times we have gone for CS my XH has worked less hrs the month before we go. and comes in and says his work is slow and they only let him work 30 hrs a week instead of a full 40 and that is what CS is based on because he is hrly. Then after he goes back to 40 hrs. Is there anyway to have him show maybe 6-9 weeks of paystubs, or does this really even matter?

 

[Momto1]

Bumping to the top....

 

[LdiJ]

So I am filing so that next summer will be taken care of. However the past few times we have gone for CS my XH has worked less hrs the month before we go. and comes in and says his work is slow and they only let him work 30 hrs a week instead of a full 40 and that is what CS is based on because he is hrly. Then after he goes back to 40 hrs. Is there anyway to have him show maybe 6-9 weeks of paystubs, or does this really even matter?

Yes, you could certain try to have him do that. It may not work, but you can try.

 

[mistoffolees]

So I am filing so that next summer will be taken care of. However the past few times we have gone for CS my XH has worked less hrs the month before we go. and comes in and says his work is slow and they only let him work 30 hrs a week instead of a full 40 and that is what CS is based on because he is hrly. Then after he goes back to 40 hrs. Is there anyway to have him show maybe 6-9 weeks of paystubs, or does this really even matter?

You can make whatever argument you want to demonstrate ability to pay. The court is interested in the ability to pay over the long run, so a short term dip in income shouldn't matter.

The problem is that you probably don't have any way of knowing whether his work will pick up tomorrow or next week or next year. If it's a maintenance shut down and he has ALWAYS worked 40 hours, then you could make the case. OTOH, if it's simply that his work hours have always fluctuated with business needs, it's going to be harder to argue.

The best way is to use something that spreads out the income over time. I believe most courts want to see at least 3 pay stubs. If he's paid every 2 weeks, that's 6 weeks. Or, you could ask the court to base income on tax returns if it fluctuates a lot. Or you could ask for 3 months or something else, but you need to be able to justify whatever you choose. "His income is low this week due to a work cutback" might not do the trick - how do you know it's not going to stay low or even go lower?

I'd try to stick to tax return income because that averages out short term fluctuations as well as any seasonality. For example, if he's in construction, income tends to drop a lot in November through Feb. So a December pay stub is going to be much lower than the average. Or, if he's an indepdent accountant, August will be much lower than March or April.

 

[Momto1]

Thanks LD & Misto. He is a manager in a supercenter here in town. I;m not sure how he can be a manager and work less than 40 hrs per week and still keep benefits. But each time we have gone he brings on pay stub (two weeks) and it shows him at 30-32 hrs per week
So in my filing do i need to request that tax returns be brought in to verify income? I am doing this pro se, so I jsut want to make sure it's done correctly.
Thanks again

 

[mistoffolees]

Thanks LD & Misto. He is a manager in a supercenter here in town. I;m not sure how he can be a manager and work less than 40 hrs per week and still keep benefits. But each time we have gone he brings on pay stub (two weeks) and it shows him at 30-32 hrs per week
So in my filing do i need to request that tax returns be brought in to verify income? I am doing this pro se, so I jsut want to make sure it's done correctly.
Thanks again

There's something seriously wrong. A manager should be exempt - and receiving a salary, not hourly payment.

In principle, there's no reason an hourly person can't have a 'manager' title and be within the law, but if he really manages a Supercenter, then he should be salaried, so something is fishy.