Need help in IL

[firstwife]

Hello I'm in IL
My husband is paying CS to a woman who bore his child out of wedlock shorty before we met. The child just turned 1.

My husband supplies med insurance, which she refuses to use as she has obtained a state med card by not reporting her CS payments, he provides 1/2 daycare and 20% of his pay CS and $30 per week arrears. She is repeatedly calling our home stating she is taking us back for a modification as the previous judge refused to take into account my income and assets when awarding the support. She is also receiving free food and other assistance from public aid due to receiving the med card under false pretenses (she currently makes $24,000/yr excluding CS-exceeding any income limits for public aid in IL).

We are currently expecting our first child in March, an increase in the support will place us in serious financial trouble, as we are currently scraping by (my husband was laid off and took a 50% cut in pay which was taken into account at the time support was awarded, but of course, his debts, which did not drop by 50% at the time of lay off, were not taken into account).

Anyway, sorry for being long-winded:
1. Should I report her to public aid as this has been going on for 7 months? Will we suffer repercussions?

2. Can she obtain my income or an increase in a mod for CS without taking into account expenses for our new child and my expenses (ie my mortgage and home equity loan etc)?

3. Can I deny her access to my financial records?

Thank you for any help you may provide.
PS We currently do not have custody or visitation as she has denied both and at this time we don't have the finances to go into a custody battle. My husband has never seen the child, not even a photo.

 

[Kelly143]

You can file custody and visitation papers yourself, you do not need a lawyer, and all you pay is the filing fees. To put your mind at ease, they will not take your income into account if and when she files for a modification. It is not YOUR responsibility to support HER child, and the courts won't make you. Your financial records are none of her business, the child has nothing to do with you, only your husband. As far as reporting her, if I were you, I would. Not only is she taking money that does not belong to her, but she is defrauding the government of a LOT of cash. Your fellow taxpayers in IL will thank you for it. And you can do it anonymously, so she wouldn't know. You will actually be doing her a favor, because they will probably make her pay back what she got illegally, and better to do it now than ten years from now, when they eventually catch it themselves. Good luck, and I hope she gets what she deserves, she sounds unbelievably selfish.

 

[deefran]

Kelly is right, your husband can file for visitation, if he needs help with the legal jargon he can hire a paralegal for a small fee.
It is also correct that YOUR income is NOT used when determining CS, if she obtains your financial records she is breaking the law.
She is breaking the law by defrauding the government, it would definitely be the right thing to do to report her.
1 other thing, while your hubby is filing for visitation have him file to modify CS, as his conditions have changed substantially, with his job, he may be entitled to a decrease. Remember YOUR income is not used.
And I have a question...how can she receive public assistance, CS and she's working? If she's not working, have the daycare expense thrown out when he is modifying the support order.

 

[VeronicaGia]

Tread very carefully here firstwife.

Find the laws of your state. If you report her, it may be your husband, the non-custodial parent, who has to pay the state back. Don't know since this is obviously a fraud case on her part.

Any lawyers out there that can help with this?

 

[deefran]

VeronicaGia- The father has been paying his court ordered child support and the mother has not been reporting it to social services, she is committing fraud, they will not make the father pay the state back as he is holding up his end of the deal.

 

[firstwife]

Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the assistance guys. You've reassured the ideas I was unsure of previously. Honestly, I feel it's ridiculous, she has a full time job and CS AND welfare, she's got quite a racket going. I'm not eligible for any kind of assistance for my child, I'm a tax paying citizen being taken advantage of by people like this. Thanks so much.

 

[helpless2]

My 2 cents---when your husband petitions the court for visitation and CS modification, they will take into consideration that he will be providing for your child as well. This will result in a further reduction in his CS obligation. The court will not take into consideration your income as you do not have a financial obligation to the child. I do suggest that when your husband receives visitation rights, as it is his right, and one he should exercise for the child's sake; that you develop a close relationship with your stepchild as is it very important to the show how much he/she is loved by you as well. Everything the two of you do must always be in the child's best interest. Though it's hard not to be upset by the actions of others, stay focused on the child's well being. Besides, it's sounds to me that the child may need a loving home sometime in the future as the mother could be looking at jail time if caught.