Process of reviewing/adjusting child support paid

[Speedoflife]

I'm looking for help on the process of bringing a child support case back to court for reassessment.

My ex and I both live in MN and have 50/50 custody of our 2 children. Our divorce decree states that no child support will be paid by either parent.

After our divorce was final, he applied and was approved for public assistance and I was ordered by our county to pay child support. The original amount the county requested was completely unreasonable and would have left me with almost nothing. The child support notification papers had the option to request a hearing so I submitted my income and expenses and went to court, it was lowered but I also have keep medical insurance for them through my employer and pay 97% of their out of pocket medical costs.

At that time he was living in income based housing paying $350/month for rent and low utilities. He was not forced to move but chose to combine households with his girlfriend and her 2 kids to a huge non-subsidized rental house which have significantly increased his bills. I have a text from him claiming that his monthly bills total $2700/month so he can't help pay for training our daughters emotional support dog (she has severe depression and mild to moderate anxiety) that he agreed to pay 50% of all costs for and hasn't so far. The bills he is claiming total more than I bring home in a month.

He does not have a typical job, he works for "cash". He does not own a business (to my knowledge) but does construction/odd jobs. I'm pretty sure he lies about the amount of money he actually makes so that he can keep his assistance and child support but I have no way of proving it. He also lies constantly, hence the reason for our divorce.

My child support is deducted by my employer and after I've paid my bills and purchased food and necessities, I have almost nothing left over. I've been struggling the past 3 years since I've been paying support to be able to buy clothes for myself and kids and can almost never do anything fun with my kids that costs money because I can't afford it. Yet he purchased my son a computer for his birthday this year and has promised my daughter a laptop her hers. Yes, I'm aware I sound a bit bitter here. I purchase their school supplies every year and purchase most of their clothing (though I didn't keep the receipts like I'm sure I should have). He has purchased some clothing (I assume, or maybe he got them for free) but they usually don't fit the kids properly and are not in very good shape (have clothes or are pretty worn), so most of the clothes I buy usually end up getting left at their dad's house and I end up having to buy more because the clothes they come back wearing are ridiculous.

I can't afford to hire a lawyer for advice on this topic so I'm hoping anyone who has had experience with bringing their case back to court might be able to offer some advice on the process and anything I might be able to do on my own to make a case to adjust child support. I'm worried that it will backfire because he will lie about his income. A friend suggested that I report him to our county's welfare fraud department. I really don't want to get him in trouble, I just want what is fair and to be able to provide my kids with what they need.

 

[LdiJ]

I'm looking for help on the process of bringing a child support case back to court for reassessment.

My ex and I both live in MN and have 50/50 custody of our 2 children. Our divorce decree states that no child support will be paid by either parent.

After our divorce was final, he applied and was approved for public assistance and I was ordered by our county to pay child support. The original amount the county requested was completely unreasonable and would have left me with almost nothing. The child support notification papers had the option to request a hearing so I submitted my income and expenses and went to court, it was lowered but I also have keep medical insurance for them through my employer and pay 97% of their out of pocket medical costs.

At that time he was living in income based housing paying $350/month for rent and low utilities. He was not forced to move but chose to combine households with his girlfriend and her 2 kids to a huge non-subsidized rental house which have significantly increased his bills. I have a text from him claiming that his monthly bills total $2700/month so he can't help pay for training our daughters emotional support dog (she has severe depression and mild to moderate anxiety) that he agreed to pay 50% of all costs for and hasn't so far. The bills he is claiming total more than I bring home in a month.

He does not have a typical job, he works for "cash". He does not own a business (to my knowledge) but does construction/odd jobs. I'm pretty sure he lies about the amount of money he actually makes so that he can keep his assistance and child support but I have no way of proving it. He also lies constantly, hence the reason for our divorce.

My child support is deducted by my employer and after I've paid my bills and purchased food and necessities, I have almost nothing left over. I've been struggling the past 3 years since I've been paying support to be able to buy clothes for myself and kids and can almost never do anything fun with my kids that costs money because I can't afford it. Yet he purchased my son a computer for his birthday this year and has promised my daughter a laptop her hers. Yes, I'm aware I sound a bit bitter here. I purchase their school supplies every year and purchase most of their clothing (though I didn't keep the receipts like I'm sure I should have). He has purchased some clothing (I assume, or maybe he got them for free) but they usually don't fit the kids properly and are not in very good shape (have clothes or are pretty worn), so most of the clothes I buy usually end up getting left at their dad's house and I end up having to buy more because the clothes they come back wearing are ridiculous.

I can't afford to hire a lawyer for advice on this topic so I'm hoping anyone who has had experience with bringing their case back to court might be able to offer some advice on the process and anything I might be able to do on my own to make a case to adjust child support. I'm worried that it will backfire because he will lie about his income. A friend suggested that I report him to our county's welfare fraud department. I really don't want to get him in trouble, I just want what is fair and to be able to provide my kids with what they need.

Here is the problem. If you had dealt with things properly when the state first went after you for child support you would not be in the position that you are in now. Based on the fact that its a 50/50 timeshare and you are covering health insurance and most of their medical expenses you should have either not been ordered to pay child support or ordered to pay very little. You should have hired an attorney at the very beginning of the child support process.

As far as the issues regarding clothing are concerned, I recommend that you buy a few thrift store/garage sale outfits for the kids and send them to dad's house dressed in those outfits. Do not send any of the good clothes you buy to dad's house. You can also send them back to dad's house in the clothes that he sends them to you in. It's terrible to have to do that, but if dad keeps all of the clothes that you buy, you don't really have much choice.

 

[Ohiogal]

Here is the problem. If you had dealt with things properly when the state first went after you for child support you would not be in the position that you are in now. Based on the fact that its a 50/50 timeshare and you are covering health insurance and most of their medical expenses you should have either not been ordered to pay child support or ordered to pay very little. You should have hired an attorney at the very beginning of the child support process.

As far as the issues regarding clothing are concerned, I recommend that you buy a few thrift store/garage sale outfits for the kids and send them to dad's house dressed in those outfits. Do not send any of the good clothes you buy to dad's house. You can also send them back to dad's house in the clothes that he sends them to you in. It's terrible to have to do that, but if dad keeps all of the clothes that you buy, you don't really have much choice.

Only the court can deviate from the guidelines. OP, you should return to court and ask for it to be recalculated based on income changes as well as needs of the child. If dad is reporting no income, he can be imputed with an income.