Please help, I am so terribly confused....

[NurseMom]

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

This so complicated, and I am so upset.
To begin with, I am the Stepmother. My spouse, Father, and his ex-girlfriend, Mother, are going through mediation to settle custody issues.

Father entered the US Marine Corps when Child was 1 year old. Mother filed for child support, completely uncontested, when Father got out of Basic Training. Father has never missed a payment. 6 months before Father got out of the Marine Corps, he filed for joint custody, and a new Form 14 (for child support) was entered by Mother at an unknown point in response to Father's motion. That was a year ago now.

It has come to light that Mother filed her orginal order incorrectly. She put his income down wrongly, did not credit him with providing insurance, and made no child care claims. She says that she filed the paperwork as though Father were still unemployed. In accordance with this incorrect paperwork, she was underpaid for 4 years. Now she wants us to pay her the difference between what she was getting and "should" have gotten.

The problem is military pay is so complicated: BAH, combat pay, pay for ME when we married half way through, uniform allowances, tax-free pay, etc. THen combined with Mother's errors... It is a disaster!

Does she have any chance of cashing in on this $10,000 payday?

Thank you for reading,
NurseMom

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

She doesn't get a redo because she did something wrong. Any new order will go from the date of filing.

 

[Proserpina]

She doesn't get a redo because she did something wrong. Any new order will go from the date of filing.

Tink I'm not sure that's a given - my SD has literally just (about a week ago) been awarded a retroactive increase because she messed up the paperwork the first time around about fourteen months ago. Her and Dad are both military, never married (at least not to each other).

I'm not entirely sure how to help OP but unfortunately (and, I feel, unfairly) sometimes it IS going to happen.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I guessing this one is about 4 years old - assuming that the OP's husband went in for a 4-year stint.

 

[NurseMom]

Child just turned 5 years old. Another confusing point; failing all 4 years of retroactive child support, she will settle for the 12 months that the dispute over custody has been in progress.

The problem being, Father got out of the service 5 months ago and became a full time student with $0 income (I am a nurse, and make enough, not a lot, but enough money.)

So, she wants a retroactive child support adjustment for 12 months based on an income that stopped 5 months ago, with yet another number being used for future child support each month.

We have agreed to 50/50 time sharing and expenses sharing, Father makes $0 each month, and she wants $450-500 monthly in CS for forseeable future.

So, so, so muddled.

Thank you for your responses thus far, it's really helping me.
~NurseMom

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

is dad getting the GI bill? Any disability in the future?

 

[CJane]

It was a REALLY bad idea for Dad to end his income completely in the middle of a custody / child support evaluation/modification.

His income will be based on what he's CAPABLE of making given his skills and past income.

 

[NurseMom]

GI bill should be coming, but isn't yet (that is quite common, thank you, read tape). When it does begin, it will be full tuition (paid directly to the school) and $850 a month. No disability, although if he needs hearing aids in the future, he will get them from the VA for free.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

If he had loss based on service, he might be eligible for a % of disability. Two of my kids left with some definite injuries.

 

[NurseMom]

We are completely fine with an imputed income. Without any college education, we have been fine with equaling his income out with Mother's, as they live in the same town and both have a high school diploma. That income would be $29,900 yearly. We want it all to be fair, we don't want to cheat Mother, and going back to school and making no money at 27 years old wouldn't be fair.

At 29,900 per year, with a 34% Line 11 credit related to 50/50 time sharing, and each having one other child, CS would be $295 per month. That is fine.

~NurseMom

 

[Ronin]

I would disagree with any suggestion that changing income status amidst a support modification is in itself a BAD idea. It depends...

Having recently separated from the service with educational benefits, a young veteran going back to school full-time will not likely be construed as an attempt to circumvent paying child support.

If he was a grunt in the marines, or any other number of fields in the marines, it would be hard to argue that in today's economy he has marketable skills that would be much higher than minimum wage. Which is the ballpark of what he currently 'capable' of making without more education.

$800 a month in benefits is not bad especially when this is in addition to full tuition, which might also be imputed income. So all in all it could be a wash with what he is capable of making and what child support he will be required to pay.

Beyond that, if the mom wants to try to get any retroactive monies, she needs to go to court to do so. But given the amount of time passed, and that this appears to be the result of an error on her part, I would not bet on this being successful.

 

[CJane]

What was Dad making in the military?

What is he going to school for?

Why must he be unemployed in order to attend school full time?

When will he complete his degree?

 

[NurseMom]

CJane > What was Dad making in the military?

That is the million dollar question. Basic pay is about $1400 monthly (raises were included over the course of 4 years, so I am doing a little rough justice, less than his final pay, more than his initial pay). Basic Housing Allowance was began when he married me, two years in, and in the amount of $1700 monthly based on living in southern California. It is my understanding that prior to late 2009, the USMC did not count other incomes, like Combat Pay, Immiment Danger pay, etc. Even if they did, these incomes vary month to month.

Taxable income as reported on W2s is tiny, an average of $15,000 yearly.


CJane > What is he going to school for?

He is pursuing a teaching degree.

CJane > Why must he be unemployed in order to attend school full time?

He stays home with the children. We share one, and have Jacob 15 days a month. The costs of daycare for two children under five when weighed against part-time minimum wages didn't wash out in our estimation. I work nights and so the kids are NEVER in more than out-to-a-movie childcare.

CJane > When will he complete his degree?

3 more years.

Father was a grunt, and Armor Identification doesn't really scream "civilian career." In the military, it is possible to get a degree, but with two small kids, no control over station assignment, and a war going on it is just too unstable for our family to re-sign.

Ugh.

Thanks again for all of your feedback!
We are starting to get some ideas.
~NurseMom

 

[CJane]

At the very least, a portion of his BAH is going to be included to arrive at income to base CS on. It's not based on "taxable income" because that can be fudged into nonexistence.

Dad's $1400/month (which I don't buy for a second) of income plus his BAH is roughly $37K/year.

Even if he was only an E-3 when he got out, with 4 years in, he was making $1859/month base.

Military pay scales are public information.

2009 Military Pay Scale Chart - for Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines

 

[NurseMom]

I am definately not trying to mislead you. As complete strangers trying to help me out with a question, that would definately worse than useless - it would be counter-productive!

E1 pay is tiny, and you are probably correct in curving it upwards, because he wasn't one for long, of course.

$1859 IS correct for an E3, which is what he was, and was for quite a while. E1 pay in 2005 was about $1250, and I honestly don't know how much E2 pay is.

What we were thinking was using whatever the W2s were for three years, plus the BAH going rate of $1750 a month x12 months, divided by 3 years and it actually works about to about $40k (BAH is high in southern California)


Hopefully that is a better answer to your question.

Thanks again,
~NurseMom