Should he paid child support by law?

Question

My husband and I are separted and I work afternoon. he workes days. I take the kids to school, pick them up from school feed them clothe them andtheir dinner and then go to work. He keep them at night because he moved in the next building in the apartment complex after I moved out. when he keep them at 6:00p.m. they play on the computer and watch tv and he give them sometihng to eat if they are hungry and then they go to bed. He drop them over at 4:30 in the morning before he goes to work. he feel he shouldn't pay child support because he keep them at night. the children are girls and ages 8 and 12. he has a one bedroom apartment and a sofa bed. somethings by 12 year sleep with him or my eight years old. I told them to tell him to pull the sofa bed out. he said it is too much trouble everynight. I don't feel this is right. should I allow him to keep them under these condition.. he does.t want to talk to me at all. he talk through the kids. I pay all medical insur

Answer 1

The best way to enforce any type of normalcy (if any can be restored) is to take the situation to family court. It sounds as if you both are working out the situation to be considerate of time schedules which really accomodate joint custody, however there are some guidelines that need to be set in place especially when you are dealing with female children. Not saying that their father would do anything inappropriate however the courts can and will help you establish some rules and regulations if you are willing to share your concerns about his living space. He needs to have enough space to accomodate the girls especially since they are their fairly every night. This is not a situation in which they are only visiting random weekends. If he can't afford to get more space then he needs to be more considerate of his children and give up the bedroom and sleep on the sofabed himself. It is totally unacceptable that he thinks it's appropriate to be sleeping in the bed with his pre-teen daughter who is about to experience all sorts of changes in her body which could prove to be embarrassing for her. Take it to the courts for your sanity and for more stable and concrete help. As far as the child support issue, most people don't realize that the non-custodial parent is actually responsible for half of all the living expenses of each child, that includes rent, utilities, clothing, food, etc. However the custodial parent usually never receives this type of monetary assistance because the orders are based upon the income levels of both parents involved. If your ex is not contributing any financial support for your children I would definitely take the matter to family court.

Answer 2

It is suprising to me how many people immediately jump to "Yes" or "No" conclusions. That's precisely what they teach us NOT to do in law school.

It is NOT true that "if you have shared parenting, there is no child support." Child support is based upon several factors. Each parent's income or potential earning ability, supplemental income, other children, who is head of household in each home, and the court can modify whatever amount results from a state's mandated formula for determining support. Whether or not child support is paid is not dependant upon the existence of shared parenting alone.

The only way to enforce payment of child support is through the court. I said "enforce," not "force" other to pay. Enforcement means sanctions (i.e. suspension of license) or "time served" for failure to pay support.

It is NOT true that the custodial parent (one with custody) automatically must be paid child support. There are cases (although few) where it is actually the reverse. It depends on income and the specific circumstances of the parents.

It is NOT true that going to family court will "restore normalcy in your lives." Far from the truth! Family court inflames the passions of the other and the stress is amplified. It is only after some time has passed after family court when things settle. Being in the court system for some time in California, parties battling in family court often lose sight of the most important issue - the children - amidst their anger and desire to hurt the other party. Family court is a FAR from perfect machine. There are many problems.

It IS true that you should consult with an attorney or visit a family support service of your local court. You didn't state if your separation was court ordered, or if you are actually divorced, or if you both decided on your own terms without court intervention to be separated. Nonetheless, you can still file a motion to establish custody and a visitation schedule for dad. You may have a custody order already. You may also file a motion for child support supplementing it with an affidavit of your income and expenses. Dad will have to do the same. You may also motion for modification of support at any time if circumstances indicate it is appropriate to do so.

It is NOT true that just because dad does not have a room for each of the girls he should not have visitation. Parents are allowed to make do with the resources they have, so long as the best interests of the child(ren) are met. The other issue of kid sleeping in the same bed as dad - I won't go there. You are not there I'm sure, so you do not know this to be absolutely true.

Good luck. You are in a tough situation but you will eventually get through it.

Answer 3

The only way this guy is going to get a clue that you dont approve of his bad behavior and laziness is by taking him to court. You need to submit a form for him to pay child support. Talk to a lawyer or even a self help person that draws up papers. We The People draw up papers for you without a lawyer or his fee.

good luck.

Answer 4

yes, you are correct, he should pay you child support because from what it looks like a joint custody situation right now.

are the kids being taken care of while they are with him?
are they fed?
are they being suppervised by an adult?

geez, you make it sound like you do everything and he does nothing, especially when you make a comment like "he gives them something to eat"

if he should pay you child support then maybe you should think of paying him babysitting fees

the only thing you actually got going for you is that you are paying for the medical insurance

Answer 5

It's as much his job as it is yours you didn't make them by your self!
Yes he should pay child support...
the courts will give him more time with them as well as not just 12 hours, come to an agreement of pay according to his pay status which by the way is 20 percent.

as long as you have custody he has to pay.

better question... WHY DO MEN THINK THEY ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO TAKE CARE OF A CHILD THEY HELP TO CREATE?
we as women take the majority of the responsibility in raising our children and i ts not right for men to think that they can just opt out.

Answer 6

The LAW doesn't say who pays child support or even if child support must be paid . that is ajudicated by the court under "color of law" as long as the kids are happy , healthy, and taken care of ,that's the first priority.
Ask any lawyer what "Color of law" means

Answer 7

first of all you and him should decide to divorce or not, untill you do no child support will be orderd, if you continue with this relationship with him he will pay no child support cause he feels he is doing his part, if you want child support you have to divorce him and go threw court, and you as a mother if you feel something is wrong with your children sleeping with him, if you feel its not right, then you should take action and put a stop to it...if he doesnt want to talk to you about it pay attention to the kids and what they say. a mothers instintics about there children should not be ignored....good luck..

Answer 8

He should pull out the sofa bed. It is his kids he should go to all the trouble he needs to for them. Also, you would think he should pay financially for them whatever they need. He sounds lame.

Answer 9

I think he should still pay child support, but you may want to ask a lawyer about that. So frankly I don't know.

Answer 10

well first of all he should not have those girls if he don't have a bed room for them.and since you are doing the shared parenting no he shouldn't have to pay support.but he should help feed them and cloth them