can anybody help me with a question about child support?

Question

Here is the situation..my husband has a child from a previouse ex-girlfriend..he has to pay child support every week in the amount of $102.00 which he has done and never has been late....but i also have a child and we also have another child together of our own...the money is getting tight to pay this amount with 3 kids....i need to be able to fill out one of those child support guideline forms to see if he went back to court would they drop the amount some..is there a lawer out there that can answer this ? or even help me fill out the form

oh yeah i forgot to add.....the ex-girl friend does not work at all.....she stays at home all day smoking cigarettes...lives in a 2 bed room trailer ..she also has a 10 yr old little boy which she is not with his father either...and at the time she told the court she would be getting a new pplace to live so those kids wouldn't share the same bedroom and here it is 5 yrs later and she is still living in the same dump with a 6yr old girl and her 10yr old brother sharing the same bedroom...that is not a good situation

Answer 1

The child you had with another man would hold no bearing but YES, the court WILL consider the fact he has a CHILD WITH YOU, after all, The child you had together deserves a life too.

Go back to court. YES, they will consider it.....and it IS FAIR!

Answer 2

Personally and speaking from experience in a child support case now...Unless there is a drastic increase or decrease in his income this will not happen... Most states have a child support worksheet that they use in cases to determine how much should actually be paid...

My son's father has no other children and has a business that he didn't let the court know about...his lawyer and the state only had his last years work history and there wasn't a significant increase so there couldn't be a decline or an increase...they see it as if he is already paying this amount then why would we decrease it if he has already been paying it...and haven't had a problem....

I would definetly speak to a lawyer and ask... if he has recieved a pay increase instead of you getting a decrease they could possibly raise it...so it's like 50/50 if you go and they check his tax info and work history it could actually not work out in your favor...Also there are laws now that if your husband has a child and isn't paying his child support then they could garnish your pay and you pay it for him...

They are trying to really keep the system going...good luck!

Answer 3

that is an easy answer since I have been in child support court yrly cause of the dad, unfortunately your at a loss, your husband has to pay child support to his first child regardless of yours, the only way he can file,(not you) is if he had a substantial change in his income, meaning if he had a pay decrease, then he could open a petition for a modification, it does not matter how big his family at home is, the courts can give 2 hoots about that, he has to show cause if your working and he is working then your really screwed as he may have to pay more, so be very careful on what you do, it may backfire on him and make it worse for him, has the mother have an increase in pay do you know? If that is so then he could ask the support unit to do a income verification on her and if she is making more, there is your change in circumstances.

Answer 4

I have no idea. Sounds like you are stuck in a bad place. Are you getting child support or paying it? There is something along the lines of what you were saying - with the re-evaluation the amount paid out - for you and your spouse. Maybe there is a way to help your situation. Good luck - sorry if I wasn't any help.

Answer 5

the pre-existing situation (former girlfriend and child of that union) has nothing to do with any subsequent children your husband has and you cannot get the amount adjusted down just because you have 'elected' to have more children together than you can afford to support. they are ALL his children and he has a responsibility to ALL of them. if his job changes where he is making less money than he was making when child support was awarded to the ex, then he can request a reduction based on his current income, but if he is making more money now than he was making then, you are opening a can of worms to even think about revisiting the child support issue. it could well be he will be ordered to pay MORE than $102/wk based on what he is making now compared to what he was making then!

Answer 6

It differs from state to state. here you have to have a lawyer to file the paperwork and go back to court. My husband considered it once but he didn't want his ex using it against him with their daughter. He changed jobs and his income was less plus we got married and had a child but we decided it is only until his daughter turns 18. It wasn't worth giving his ex any ammunition to use against him or me. She was 5 when our daughter was born. She turns 16 in the fall of this year so we have a little under 2.5 years to go. I am looking forward to having the extra money. I have 2 children from previous marriage plus the one with him. Money is definately tight. Think it through before you do it. Good Luck

Answer 7

If I'm not mistaken your state should have a legal aid office for people that are on low income,my mother is/has applied for services here in our state,so I know they have them.Most of the time you can go to the social services and apply for a partition to see a Judge to re-evaluate your support,but be careful cause he could see to it that he pay more if the ex can prove she is worst off then him. On the other part, their are measure you can take to get the social service involved with ex's lifestyle to insure the children are better taken care of and better housed. Good Luck!

Answer 8

In my state (Ohio) they do deduct some income for additional children (that are biologically his), but the first child has priority. There would have to be a substantial pay decrease for the support to go down. In all likely hood it would go up,not down, because the cost of living gets higher every year.

Answer 9

He either needs to get another job, or try to find a higher paying job. It is not fair to his other child to cut the amount that he is paying. Do you work also? I work graveyard shift so my husband can be at home at night with our son. Also, try to cut back on non-essentials, like eating out, going to movies, new clothes for the adults, etc.

Answer 10

Are you receiving child support for your child? And if you are how would you feel if he tried to chop that amount? Good luck, if you go back to court with the cost of living going up he might have to pay more.