Court System?

Question

I will never understand the court system here in the United States. It protects a mother to the hilt and has no protection for the father. It seems as though the dead beat dad syndrome applies to all fathers good or bad. My husband was recently laid off and when you file with the court of the lay off they don't really decrease the payments they basically put them on hold and you have to pay it when you get back to work. So he goes into arrears. Now I thought the support was suppose to be based on his income well if his income has changed how can they do this? I have lost all faith in the american judisial system it is all for women and the man gets taken to the cleaners.

Answer 1

I can understand your frustration and it seems like an insult to kick you when you are down.

The truth of the matter is, that regardless of whether your husband is in work or not, the child still needs money to maintain its upkeep - it's not something you can opt out of.

Here in the UK the system isn't much better, absent fathers can apply to make reduced payments based on their income change but unfortunately there are a lot of people that abuse this and who falsify their income so they don't end up paying anything.

There needs to be a better system in place that meets the needs of both parents and that is there to ensure that the child involved is well provided for without bankrupting the ex partner.

I don't know what it is like in the US but in the UK, the fathers that DO want to pay towards their child and who want an active part in their lives tend to come off the worst financially, whilst the one's who have no regard for the child at all seem to get off scott free. It is easier to pursue the good fathers than the bad ones it seems - and that is extremely unfair.

Answer 2

Well quite frankly you need to consider WHY it's this way. First of all, parents can't just GIVE UP their responsibilities. Just because he lost his job doesn't mean he shouldn't have to pay. It means he should get off his butt and get another job.