Child Support when not working w/sick child???

[vicjj]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I recently requested an increase in child support for my oldest son who is 13. His father countered by seeking custody and requesting child support. I am not adverse to this situation, but I have not worked in 2 years because my current fiance and I have two toddlers (not school age) and one of the children requires therapeutic services 35-40 miles from my home twice a week. Can my son's father imput child support from my previous salary of $55,000?

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I recently requested an increase in child support for my oldest son who is 13. His father countered by seeking custody and requesting child support. I am not adverse to this situation, but I have not worked in 2 years because my current fiance and I have two toddlers (not school age) and one of the children requires therapeutic services 35-40 miles from my home twice a week. Can my son's father imput child support from my previous salary of $55,000?

Yes he can. You have a legal responsibility to support all of your children financially.

 

[LdiJ]

Yes he can. You have a legal responsibility to support all of your children financially.

While I agree with that statement....I also know that when there is another child with serious medical issues, requiring a parent to be at home with the child, or working less, a judge will often impute an income to that parent that is more in line with the reality of that situation.

 

[Ohiogal]

While I agree with that statement....I also know that when there is another child with serious medical issues, requiring a parent to be at home with the child, or working less, a judge will often impute an income to that parent that is more in line with the reality of that situation.

And this other child's father could also stay home and support the child. So therefore there are very strong arguments that CS should be imputed at 55K because SHE chose to be the one to stay home. This other child has TWO parents. She is only one of them.

 

[nextwife]

And this other child's father could also stay home and support the child. So therefore there are very strong arguments that CS should be imputed at 55K because SHE chose to be the one to stay home. This other child has TWO parents. She is only one of them.

EXactly!

I don't understand all these posts that presume all this should be done by MOM?

The posts such as: "I don't want my child raised by strangers, so I'm a SAHM and don't work." What's dad, chopped liver? He can share in these responsibilities! The choice is NOT Mom or nobody! My husband and I CO-parent and make career and employment choices that give us that flexibility.

 

[haiku]

EXactly!

I don't understand all these posts that presume all this should be done by MOM?

The posts such as: "I don't want my child raised by strangers, so I'm a SAHM and don't work." What's dad, chopped liver? He can share in these responsibilities! The choice is NOT Mom or nobody! My husband and I CO-parent and make career and employment choices that give us that flexibility.

yep....my husband and I have a child with special needs....I AM the one who takes the paycut and stays home with her...but thats precisely because my husband has 3 other children he needs to support. I highly doubt the court would let him lower the support when thier is another parent of the "disabled" child in the home....

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

My question to the OP is: the father of the two toddlers - who makes more - you or the dad?

When we talk about one staying home with the disabled child, it can make more sense for the person taking the smaller cut in pay, or with the better insurance to remain the one working. I'm am NOT saying that her income shouldn't be inputed - but, we don't have all the fact here either.

 

[nextwife]

Yup. Our daughter has some special needs as well. Eye doctor, ear doctor, audiologist, therapies, psychiatrist, and other regular appointments. Sometimes I take her, sometimes dad takes her. There is NO reason I need to always be the one to take that time off work.

My daughter has classmates with some serious developmental issues and disabilities. They still attend a regular public school, and the school must accomidate them. Their moms DON'T stay home. Obviously, if ILL, the child needs to be home. but MANY children with all sorts of disabilities still attend school.

 

[CJane]

My question to the OP is: the father of the two toddlers - who makes more - you or the dad?

When we talk about one staying home with the disabled child, it can make more sense for the person taking the smaller cut in pay, or with the better insurance to remain the one working. I'm am NOT saying that her income shouldn't be inputed - but, we don't have all the fact here either.

This is true.

This is also a situation that in MY state, they'd be very likely to take the income of the step-parent into account when figuring CS.

 

[nextwife]

I'm curious, if the NCP were male, and were choosing to be the one off work to care for sick child from a different relationship, would the court REALLY allow his CS to be adjusted downward to reflect the voluntary time off, when the child has a second parent who COULD potentially be doing this??? Or when they could perhaps split their child's caregiving between them? Because the NCP's household was better off financially if he took the time off, and wife of NCP made more money?

 

[CJane]

I'm curious, if the NCP were male, and were choosing to be the one off work to care for sick child from a different relationship, would the court REALLY allow his CS to be adjusted downward to reflect the voluntary time off, when the child has a second parent who COULD potentially be doing this??? Or when they could perhaps split their child's caregiving between them?

In my experience? Absolutely.

I find it really hard to believe that Missouri is so progressive that they're the ONLY state that treats CS and in most cases custody as well EXACTLY the same with each parent w/no regard to gender.

And extreme medical need isn't usually seen as 'voluntary unemployment' either. So yes, CS is adjusted accordingly.

BUT because the child is from a subsequent relationship, the parent of that child - if in the home - is often considered for income purposes.

 

[nextwife]

In my experience? Absolutely.

I find it really hard to believe that Missouri is so progressive that they're the ONLY state that treats CS and in most cases custody as well EXACTLY the same with each parent w/no regard to gender.

And extreme medical need isn't usually seen as 'voluntary unemployment' either. So yes, CS is adjusted accordingly.

BUT because the child is from a subsequent relationship, the parent of that child - if in the home - is often considered for income purposes.

But what about FL?

If a NCP in FL remarried and had a child who had SNs with new wife, and HE decided to stay home with the new child, instead of his spouse, because his NEW household was better off financially if he would be the one to stay home, would his CS be adjusted downward?

 

[CJane]

But what about FL?

If a NCP in FL remarried and had a child who had SNs with new wife, and HE decided to stay home with the new child, instead of his spouse, because his NEW household was better off financially if he would be the one to stay home, would his CS be adjusted downward?

They would likely take into account the income of his spouse and determine whether the HOUSEHOLD income warranted a modification downward.

Just as I stated about the reverse in my last post.

That said, I wonder if anyone who posts threads such as this realizes how little CS changes when incomes change fairly dramatically.

For instance, if stupidhead were paying according to guidelines, he would be paying me about $700/month based on his income of $52K and mine of $28K.

For that amount to change more than a few dollars in either direction, my income would have to drop to $20K or his increase to almost $65K.

In an income shares state, it's possible that Mom's income (in the case of OP) would be imputed ONLY at the amount that would bring her household income to what the combined income that Mom and Dad had at the time the order was set.

So, if Mom and Dad both made $50K for a combined income of $100K, but Dad now makes $70K, it's possible Mom's income would only be imputed at $30K.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

There are times when a cookie cutter answer will NOT work. The OP states that she has to travel twice weekly for treatments of child. How disabled is the child? Sometimes, when you work out the economics, it sometimes is cheaper to stay home than to go out to work. I've run into folks who can have childcare costs of $300-$400 per week because of a severely disabled child. There comes a point where it costs you more to work than to stay home.

 

[CJane]

There are times when a cookie cutter answer will NOT work. The OP states that she has to travel twice weekly for treatments of child. How disabled is the child? Sometimes, when you work out the economics, it sometimes is cheaper to stay home than to go out to work. I've run into folks who can have childcare costs of $300-$400 per week because of a severely disabled child. There comes a point where it costs you more to work than to stay home.

Exactly, and it's in those instances where CS calculations start to take into account other factors. And it doesn't matter WHICH parent is doing the caretaking or whether or not they have a penis.