About both support and custody.

[RohanDanielle]

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

Going to try to make a long story short: Divorced 4 years ago. Decree says joint custody. Decree says father pays $500/mo, if I have primary custody of kids and if he has primary custody, I pay $250/mo. Their father moved out of state in April of 2005. He and his new wife voluntarily moved to Oregon, though they both had employment here in California. I did not fight it at the time as things were still rather friendly. That Christmas, the children moved up to Oregon and now live primarily with their father and step-mother. The first year, they asked for no support and we split travel costs. Then they asked for support and then that I pay for all travel costs as well. I have been a full-time student for the last two years, completing my undergraduate degree, so I had little or no money to give and travel costs were a constant challenge. I am working again, though with the economy, making much less than I anticipated, but agreed to pay support beginning in January and expressed my concern with the cost of travel and stressed that I could not afford the support and all of the travel. It will have been four months since I have seen my children, when they next visit, and it will be four months again before spring break. I feel that my children only seeing their mother a few times a year is not in their best interest and want to see them more.

Here are my questions:
What is their obligation towards travel costs, since they made a choice to move?
Do travel costs apply to my support payments?
Is there any provision for how often I see my children and are they responsible for helping with that?
As a full-time student, am I liable for the missed payments during that time?

 

[proud_parent]

What is their obligation towards travel costs...

Stepmom has no obligation.
Dad is obligated to do no more and no less than the Court has ordered.

So, what do your orders state with regard to transportation and expenses?

And how old are those orders? Did anyone petition to modify custody and/or visitation when the children moved to Oregon? If not, why not????

...since they made a choice to move?

If you had sought a modification soon after Dad moved, you might very well have been successful in convincing a judge that Dad should be ordered to pay for all transportation.

From your post, however, it seems that you have willingly split or paid for all travel for three and a half years. Therefore, the "Dad moved, he's responsible" argument may not fly now.

Do travel costs apply to my support payments?

Again, what do your current orders state?

Most orders address transportation as completely separate from child support. That is, if you are ordered to pay both CS and travel costs, you can't just deduct your travel expenses paid from the amount of CS you owe.

Is there any provision for how often I see my children and are they responsible for helping with that?

Again, what do your current orders state?

If you have court ordered parenting time, have you been exercising it? If so, how often? If not, why not?

And remember that Stepmom isn't a party; you and Dad are the ones with rights and obligations in this scenario.

As a full-time student, am I liable for the missed payments during that time?

A child support order is not a suggestion.

If you are ordered to pay child support and you have not done so, you are responsible for the unpaid amount plus any interest due under state law. In California, interest is a hefty 10% per annum.

Child support debt is not like a student loan; you can't defer repayment based on being enrolled full time.

It was your choice to go to school full time. You could have cut back on your educational hours and worked more.

 

[LdiJ]

Stepmom has no obligation.
Dad is obligated to do no more and no less than the Court has ordered.

So, what do your orders state with regard to transportation and expenses?

And how old are those orders? Did anyone petition to modify custody and/or visitation when the children moved to Oregon? If not, why not????



If you had sought a modification soon after Dad moved, you might very well have been successful in convincing a judge that Dad should be ordered to pay for all transportation.

From your post, however, it seems that you have willingly split or paid for all travel for three and a half years. Therefore, the "Dad moved, he's responsible" argument may not fly now.


Again, what do your current orders state?

Most orders address transportation as completely separate from child support. That is, if you are ordered to pay both CS and travel costs, you can't just deduct your travel expenses paid from the amount of CS you owe.

Again, what do your current orders state?

If you have court ordered parenting time, have you been exercising it? If so, how often? If not, why not?

And remember that Stepmom isn't a party; you and Dad are the ones with rights and obligations in this scenario.


A child support order is not a suggestion.

If you are ordered to pay child support and you have not done so, you are responsible for the unpaid amount plus any interest due under state law. In California, interest is a hefty 10% per annum.

Child support debt is not like a student loan; you can't defer repayment based on being enrolled full time.

It was your choice to go to school full time. You could have cut back on your educational hours and worked more.

I have an additional question.

Why did the kids move to Oregon?

I also can't see a judge ordering mom to pay all the travel expenses. It may be too late to get dad stuck with all of them, since he moved, but I still can't see a judge sticking mom with all of them either.

 

[proud_parent]

I have an additional question.

Why did the kids move to Oregon?

I also can't see a judge ordering mom to pay all the travel expenses. It may be too late to get dad stuck with all of them, since he moved, but I still can't see a judge sticking mom with all of them either.

I agree. Particularly if Mom (still) has significantly less income than Dad (my surmise based on the relative child support numbers OP posted).