CS modification question

[Sandwalk]

What is the name of your state? Iowa

I have a question about my child support amount. I have a 12 year old son and his brother turned 18 in March so child support for him has ended. When CS ended for the 18 year old we had the CS modified. The reason that I had it modified was because it had never been modified in 7 years and the amount that he would be paying was quite low for the money that he makes. Unfortunately my ex husband lied so much on his taxes that the amount is even lower than I would have received if it was not modified. He is a finished carpenter and he makes $25 an hour and works a 45 hour week. On the modification papers he wrote that he made $19,000 gross last year. He also makes thousands of dollars selling milking equipment in cash to a man from Mexico but claims none of it. I plan on challenging this and am wondering what I should include in writing or anything else.
Thanks in advance.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Iowa

I have a question about my child support amount. I have a 12 year old son and his brother turned 18 in March so child support for him has ended. When CS ended for the 18 year old we had the CS modified. The reason that I had it modified was because it had never been modified in 7 years and the amount that he would be paying was quite low for the money that he makes. Unfortunately my ex husband lied so much on his taxes that the amount is even lower than I would have received if it was not modified. He is a finished carpenter and he makes $25 an hour and works a 45 hour week. On the modification papers he wrote that he made $19,000 gross last year. He also makes thousands of dollars selling milking equipment in cash to a man from Mexico but claims none of it. I plan on challenging this and am wondering what I should include in writing or anything else.
Thanks in advance.

You are going to have to be able to prove what he makes. Did he submit his tax return? Did it actually show only 19k?

 

[Sandwalk]

Yes he did submit his tax forms and yes he did only claim that he makes 19K.
I am wondering if I could subpoena his bank loans. I am sure that he claims that he makes alot more than that on them. I am just wondering if there is anything that I can do about this. He lives high on the hog and has always denied his kids and I just do not think that it is fair to them. When all 3 of my kids were under 18 he claimed that he made so little on his taxes that he only had to pay $143 a month for all 3 and he made over $20 an hour @ 45 hours a week then also.

 

[LdiJ]

Yes he did submit his tax forms and yes he did only claim that he makes 19K.
I am wondering if I could subpoena his bank loans. I am sure that he claims that he makes alot more than that on them. I am just wondering if there is anything that I can do about this. He lives high on the hog and has always denied his kids and I just do not think that it is fair to them. When all 3 of my kids were under 18 he claimed that he made so little on his taxes that he only had to pay $143 a month for all 3 and he made over $20 an hour @ 45 hours a week then also.

Well, then obviously he is getting paid alot in cash, and isn't reporting that. Here is your biggest problem. You aren't going to be able to prove his real income without spending some major money. (you would need an attorney and maybe even a PI) Then, once that is done and you get a higher child support order you are going to have to be able to collect on that order. Since he obviously isn't being paid regular wages that can be garnished, if he decides not to pay you are going to have a heck of a time collecting from him.

 

[Sandwalk]

That is what I thought. I have never denied him 1 day of his visitation and have never asked for a single dime more than his Child support. I just wondered if there was anything else I could do to actually get him to be truthful about the money that he really makes. Thank you so much for your response.

 

[Sandwalk]

I would just like to say that not all of us mothers are after our exes to get back at them. I for one just want what is right for my kids. It is a shame that some men or women(NCP) claim that they make nothing on their taxes and that is the only thing that we can go by to see what they make.

 

[Ohiogal]

That is what I thought. I have never denied him 1 day of his visitation and have never asked for a single dime more than his Child support. I just wondered if there was anything else I could do to actually get him to be truthful about the money that he really makes. Thank you so much for your response.

You are not going to get applauded for not denying him 1 day of visitation. Especially if you have a court order. Visitation and child support are two very different subjects and they are not connected -- i.e. child support is NOT an admission fee to see the child.
How do you know he earns $25 an hour as a carpenter? Is a contract worker or not?
How do you know he sells milking equipment to Mexico and earns thousands of dollars? How do you know he claims none of it? How do you know that HE does all this? Prove it.

 

[Sandwalk]

I am just saying that I have always worked with him so the kids could go and see him even though he does nothing to make any of this easy. He actually told me that he would "make my life a living hell" if his CS went up. What does that say abou him? Not much in my mind. The only thing to him is the almighty dollar.
How do I know all these things? Because I just do and yes I will prove it!

I know that visitation and CS are 2 seperate things....why do you think that I never messed with that? I have only asked for some advise and now I am the bad guy? I am sure if you were in my shoes you would not want to let this go either....why should my kids always get the screws?

 

[GrowUp!]

I am just saying that I have always worked with him so the kids could go and see him even though he does nothing to make any of this easy. He actually told me that he would "make my life a living hell" if his CS went up. What does that say abou him? Not much in my mind. The only thing to him is the almighty dollar.

It's a two-way street. There are many CP's on here who want to know how to get the max amount of CS...as if they think it's for them.

How do I know all these things? Because I just do and yes I will prove it!

I doubt you'll be successful at proving it since you came on here asking HOW.

I know that visitation and CS are 2 seperate things....why do you think that I never messed with that? I have only asked for some advise and now I am the bad guy?

No...because you mentioned that you never denied him parenting time. So, someone called you out on the comment, as if cs is "admission" to see a child. It's not. Neither parent, who are under orders of support, is legally obligated to further support their child more than a court order states.

 

[jbowman]

I just posted this in another thread, but it works here also.

"I am in the same situation. The NCP is an independent contractor. His 1099 said he made 88K one year and 90K the next (or something close). After business expenses, he claimed to make about $700 per month. The judge in my case said that it made absolutely NO SENSE, that he was making LESS than minimum wage and he needed to come back with exact proof of all his expenses. She also said that if this was, in fact, true, then he was not working to his full capability and she would impute an income based on what he was capable of earning. We had a continuance for him to get his records in order.

He came back to court a bit more forthcoming. I still dont believe it was the absolute truth of his total income but it was better. Judges DO use common sense. The only thing is, YOU have to bring it to their attention. If you don't object to it, the judge will think you agree with it. I HAD to specifically say "Your honor, I do not agree with the income he is claiming..." etc. THEN she looked into it more closely."

And I am a CP that wants to get the max amount. Im not going shopping for myself--nor is it making me rich. I want the MOST for my child.

And IMO, Poster mentioned not denying parenting time to try and let people know that she is has not been horrible in this situation as opposed to many CPs that may keep their children away (or attempt to) from the NCP out of spite.

 

[fairisfair]

I just posted this in another thread, but it works here also.

"I am in the same situation. The NCP is an independent contractor. His 1099 said he made 88K one year and 90K the next (or something close). After business expenses, he claimed to make about $700 per month. The judge in my case said that it made absolutely NO SENSE, that he was making LESS than minimum wage and he needed to come back with exact proof of all his expenses. She also said that if this was, in fact, true, then he was not working to his full capability and she would impute an income based on what he was capable of earning. We had a continuance for him to get his records in order.

He came back to court a bit more forthcoming. I still dont believe it was the absolute truth of his total income but it was better. Judges DO use common sense. The only thing is, YOU have to bring it to their attention. If you don't object to it, the judge will think you agree with it. I HAD to specifically say "Your honor, I do not agree with the income he is claiming..." etc. THEN she looked into it more closely."

And I am a CP that wants to get the max amount. Im not going shopping for myself--nor is it making me rich. I want the MOST for my child.

And IMO, Poster mentioned not denying parenting time to try and let people know that she is has not been horrible in this situation as opposed to many CPs that may keep their children away (or attempt to) from the NCP out of spite.

Nice post J. . . . . . . .

 

[Ohiogal]

I am just saying that I have always worked with him so the kids could go and see him even though he does nothing to make any of this easy. He actually told me that he would "make my life a living hell" if his CS went up. What does that say abou him? Not much in my mind.

That is irrelevant truthfully to CS.

The only thing to him is the almighty dollar.

That is still irrelevant to CS.

How do I know all these things? Because I just do and yes I will prove it!

Get bitchy because I asked questions that the court will ask you. Go ahead. Give the court that attitude. You NEED to prove it -- to the COURT. If you go in there and just say this stuff, it will not get you anywhere. The burden is on YOU to prove that he is underreporting his income. Not on him to prove YOUR allegations.

I know that visitation and CS are 2 seperate things....why do you think that I never messed with that?

I didn't think you did mess with that. In fact I believed your statement that you have never denied him visitation HOWEVER that is IRRELEVANT to CS. And you are the one who brought it up. Usually people do not bring up things that irrelevant unless THEY believe it is relevant to their case.

I have only asked for some advise and now I am the bad guy?

Who the hell said that?

I am sure if you were in my shoes you would not want to let this go either....why should my kids always get the screws?

"My kids"? Ummm.. they are not just YOUR kids. Maybe that is why dad may feel a bit put out shall we say.

 

[Sandwalk]

Ohiogal....I have read many posts on here and it is always the same with you. One the defense! It is very obvious that you have never had to deal with any of this...you probably don't have any children because if you did you would be more sympathetic to something like this. I would surely assume that you would think that if someone makes at least 50-60K you would expect to get more than $143 a month for 3 children.

 

[Silverplum]

Ohiogal....I have read many posts on here and it is always the same with you. One the defense! It is very obvious that you have never had to deal with any of this...you probably don't have any children because if you did you would be more sympathetic to something like this. I would surely assume that you would think that if someone makes at least 50-60K you would expect to get more than $143 a month for 3 children.

This is not a SYMPATHY site. It's a LEGAL site. Expect what it's FOR, not what you WANT.

No one assumes anything, legally. If Dad is willing to cheat on his taxes and hurt his kids, what can anyone expect? He's a pig. Maybe you could turn him in to the IRS. But as far as the legalities go, you have to be able to prove your assertions in court. So does everyone.

As far as your tiny fit at OG, your statement is laughable.

 

[Sandwalk]

jbowman....thank you for your post. Finally someone who understands! I am going to take your advice and first of all challenge the modification. I hope that the judge on my case will be just as understanding. Believe me....I have never used my (our) kids as a pawn as some do....after all it is not their problem. I have always made sure that they are well taken care of even though I get litte help from their father. I really hate it when you come on here and get a snooty answer when all we really want is a little advice....we are not all money hungry animals! I just want to be fair!!
Thanks again for the great post!