back to court

[colostepmom]

i am from colorado. I married a man with 3 children. one has lived primarily with us for 3 years, the other 2 we have about 45% of the time. husband has paid roughly $800 monthly, ($400 alimony, $400 child support) for past 5 years. Alimony obligation is no longer in effect due to exwife remarrying. exwife is now taking us back to court for more child support. child that was primarily living with us is now primarily living with exwife, so we have all three about 45% of time. we are going to dispute this arrangement at upcoming court date. exwife has obtained college education but recently became pregnant, so hasn't worked for past 5 years. i am also pregnant. will the court take into consideration what her ability to earn could be.. or only that she says she can not work because she is pregnant? also, i own business that empolyees my husband, he earns a wage per hour. will court consider my business his income or only his wages? also, exwife is representing herself in court, will she be able to actually question my husband and i? i have a restraining order against her and she has one against my husband. is there any thing we can do to avoid this?

 

[Grace_Adler]

I'll try to help as best I can. First, they won't look at what her income potential could be, only that she doesn't have one. About the business, I'm not sure. Technically they're only supposed to look at his wages but they find ways around this stuff. About court, I know if it were criminal court she would have the right to question you so I guess she would in this case. Not sure though.
What do you want to avoid? Court? If so, if she's filing a motion, I'm sorry but it's not likely to happen. I'm curious though what kind of custody arrangement there is because they have a worksheet for split custody where they base the CS on how much time is divided between the parents' homes. In your case it sounds like they should be using this worksheet. You have to have the children a certain amount of days out of the year. Do you know if they are going by this or not?

 

[Grandma B]

I'll try to help as best I can. First, they won't look at what her income potential could be, only that she doesn't have one.

Colorado uses the income of both parents to calculate child support. If a parent is unemployed or underemployed, a predetermined amount of potential income will be used for the calculation. Your state also has tables listing the combined gross income of both parents as well as the number of children involved on which to base support.

Be prepared to prove the amount of time the children spend in the father's home--that will also be factored in when determining the support.

 

[Grace_Adler]

I know they use the combined incomes of both parents. And in Colorado they can use the income potential of the custodial parent. The point I was trying to make..which is my opinion, is since she isn't working I think they will put 0 down for her. Even if she was working and she falls underneath a certain level..I don't know about there but here it wouldn't matter because it would show her percentage as being 0% and his share being 100%. Especially since she has been out of the work force for 5 yrs or more I doubt they will put anything for her. If they do I will be surprised. And if they do I wouldn't be at all surprised if they put minimum wage..unless she had some great job before making lots of money.

 

[sbaldwin]

posted by Grace Adler
they have a worksheet for split custody where they base the CS on how much time is divided between the parents' homes.

Grace
Do you know where I can obtain a copy of this worksheet?

 

[Grace_Adler]

You know..your state makes it hard to find anything..LOL! I was checking on it and I can't even find the part of the worksheet/guidelines that shows the amount to be paid based on the no. of children. In this state the part of the guidelines is called the Proposed Monthly Basic Child Support Obligation with the amounts listed from the incomes for the no. of children. Well anyway, I can give you some sites to look up. If you can't find all the info you need you can pick the worksheets and guidelines up at the courthouse. These sites have the guidelines and calculators on them.
http://www.supportguidelines.com
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/index.html
http://www.divorcelawinfo.com
good law sites-
http://polisci.com/web/slegis.htm
http://www.findlaw.com

 

[colostepmom]

child support

first, thanks for responding. we used worksheet in last court hearing, so i'm sure we will in upcoming one. the reason i don't want to go to court is we have been to court 5 times in last 5 years. we are not allowed to go on with our lives. we are court ordered to go to mediation before court, but exwife decides that is not convienent for her, so court again. she has tried to have us thrown in jail for abuse (social ser. found her claims not credible). she has harrassed us both continously and always come out smelling like a rose. much pent up frustration on all sides. who wants there worst nightmare questioning them and twisting everything they say while you try and remain calm? I dread it. I geuss that is the way the law goes as far as her getting to claim 0 income. what is good for the gander is definetly never good for the goose. if my husband chose to not work and go to college then stay at home to care for new baby, he would be in jail for contempt of court. i think her choices are her business, but we are penalized and forced to struggle while she has 2 new cars, lives in a 2 story 3 bedroom home and shops for a bigger one (we rent a 2 bedroom trailer). we want to pay what is fair for the child support, but some consideration should be taken for her choosing to not work. thanks again colostepmom