Ex-wife only has to pay $200 a month in child support. How is that going to help?

Question

Ex-wife only has to pay $200 a month in child support. How is that going to help?

My ex-wife is suppose to pay me $200 a month but she refuses to do it. Why does she have to pay so little? If it was the other way around and I had to pay it would be a lot more. I have custody. I only make 450 a week, Have to pay 750 rent and electric, gas and water, 240 truck note, groceries, and incidentals. I always hear of others child support being a lot more and wondering if it is because I am dad is why I get the least amount?

I live in Louisiana, the 450 is after i pay for medical, dental and other benefits. I turned down a promotion to be with the kids.

Answer 1

my ex husband pays 227.22 for 2 kids a month and this includes his back support as well.It would only be 112.00 a month if he ahd paid his 14.00 a week per child. It just goes by income and if they keep a stable job they can trace them to do a withholding from there check.Most states are only allowed so much a week or pay period that they can take it is the law.
It is hard but as a other poster stated some of these cost you would already have. Maybe you would have a smaller this or that but you would have to live.

In michigan they also go by what you make as well. My husband has custody of his daughter and his ex pays 215.00 because she works as a cashier at a local gas station and because they figure it out using my husband income as well.
So you are not be discrimated against because your dad lots and lots of men pay very low child support as well.
I would try not to look at the money so much and just be glad that you have your child and although it may be tight, you know that you are provinding a decent life for your child , and dont have to worry about the childs well being.
Good luck and a hats off for taking responability

Answer 2

The amount of child support paid doesn't have anything to do with who actually has physical custody of the child. Most of the time the child support is based on the non-custodial parents income. They are usually required to provide the courts with proof of their income. The courts then calculate the child support on this. I know that in my state, the average amount of child support for one child is 20% of the non-custodial parents before taxes income. For 2 kids, it is 25%. If they have a child with a new wife, partner, then they do get a "break" of like 2%. There are online child support calculators that you can look at and if you know how much your ex wife makes, you can calculate how much child support she should be paying. I know that in my state, you can request a review of the child support amount every 3 years, however if the increase or decrease in the amount is less than a certain amount, they will not change the amount of child support.

The reason you have heard of the child support being more for other people, is probably because the non-custodial parent in those cases makes more than your ex-wife. There is no "set amount" of child support that every non-custodial parent pays. It varies situation to situation. A parent who makes $1500 a month isn't going to pay as much child support as one who makes $3000 a month. Also, most states do not base the child support that is paid on what the custodial parent makes or the expenses they have. Meaning that the state is not going to take into consideration how much you pay in rent or how much your truck payment is. They might, however, take into consideration your insurance premiums, if you carry insurance on the child. She might have to pay you back at least half of your premiums.

Answer 3

First of all go to this link: http://www.alllaw.com/calculators/Childsupport/louisiana/ and enter the relevant information. It will give you an estimate of whether or not you are getting screwed.

Louisiana law is different than other states because of the French influence and there is still a lot of Napoleonic Code to it, so I won't even begin to compare it to Texas law which like everywhere else is based on English Common Law.

I will say that you may be able to prove that she is intentionally remaining underemployed to circumvent the child support order. If a judge agrees he/she can order her to pay support at a higher level. This would happen if she could get a higher paying job but simply refused.

Look into social service agencies in your county. My stepdaughter lived with me from the age of 2-5 1/2 and we were able to get child care assistance so that we could finish college. We did it with NO support because there was none asked for in the decree. She was a stripper bringing home $1000 and refused to provide for her child, went as far as demanding that I stay home and care for her daughter so that she didn't have to pay support.

Another group to look up online would be Father For Equal Rights. My husband and I were members for a time and they can help with peer counseling and reduced rate legal services.

Answer 4

No, this is based on her income just like your child support would be if you were paying her. My ex-husband made $35,000 a year, and I was given $350 a month for child support for one child. Whether you have two kids or not does not matter. The first time that we became divorced, my ex-husband made a lot less money. We had 3 daughters at home at the time. I was given $250.00 a month. I also had bills, and I was only making $250.00 a week. I had to suck it up and get a second job. If he didn't have it, how was he suppose to give it to me?

Answer 5

get a better job then....she isn't suppose to be paying enough for you to live off of....and they look at how many kids divided by how much she makes....and she has to beable to survive herself...my boyfriend pays the same amount for his child in an area where rent is $1600 a month...when i did daycare i had a boy who's dad only paid $25 a month...all of these totals were court ordered...they didn't choose to pay that little....and thats the cheapest....it is nothing about you being the dad...its ALL about how much she makes....if your not happy take her back to court and get a reevalutation...bring your bills...i don't know if it will help...but i think for now if your only making 450 a week you need a better job...i make twice that and i work at a gas station....if you had the opportunity to make more money but choose to be with the kids then why are you complaining about money??? i think you need to reevalutate your own living situation...maybe you need to cut back on some things....

Answer 6

Child and spousal support is determined in most states by what the person is earining. It is usually figured on a set scale, so unless she is making more money and not reporting it, there is little chance of getting more. Now, if she is not making those payments, you need to notify the court. Most states will set it up so the payment goes directly to the courts from the exes checking account and the court than pays it out. See if that is an option for LA.

Answer 7

I don't know where you live but here in Texas whether you are male or female, they go by your wages to figure out the child support. They have to leave you 50% of your net pay. When I first got it, he paid $28.00 a week...that's $112.00 a month, and like you say, what does that pay. Now I don't get anything because he is in prison...so once again I am getting screwed. I will never get all the money he owes me, and my daughter is 13. I feel for you because I am in the same situation, but I am unemployed at the moment and living on a veyr little check every two weeks. Take her back to court, if you know she is making good money, they will raise it for you.

Answer 8

Your right.

If she had custody and you were refusing to pay your child support you would be on some "deadbeat dads" list and taking money from your paycheck would already be happening.

In the court system, when it comes to parenting, there is a definite historical bias IN FAVOR OF mothers.

Just the fact that you have custody is unusual. She probably had to do some very very serious screwing up for that to happen.

In my opinion, I'd like more dads to get pissed off about this treatment and organize for a change.

Why don't you lead it?

Answer 9

Child support is supposed to be based on the ability to pay, not on the needs. If you make more money, you pay more support. $200 a month will buy a lot of groceries. If she refuses to pay, then you can take her to court to get it. Don't delay.

Answer 10

It differs from state to state, but it depends on income - often there's a baseline percentage of income, and then other factors, such as how assets were divided in the divorce, and the circumstances of the divorce itself, can play into it.

I don't think it's because you're dad and not mom, unless the judge weighed heavily on the decision. It's based on her income - that's the law. Find out the rules for calculating it in her state.

Then, find out how you can get either a garnishment for back child support, or at least, a court order to have the child support taken automatically from her paycheck from now on. There are legal services available for working folks with low incomes who can help you with this without breaking your back financially. Do some searches on legal aid.

Also do some checking on food assistance for low-income families. There are programs like WIC that may be able to provide supplemental food assistance for things like milk, cheese and eggs. It's not food stamps - and there's no shame in it. This is for your kids. It's not easy...but swallow your pride and get some help. Your local department of human services may provide some guidance on this.

Good luck...and try not to let the stress feed into your relationship with your child...especially with how you talk about mom around the kid/kids. Take the high road on that one, even when you don't want to.

Just read your addendum - for reference purposes, in Arkansas, it's 16% of income per child, before adjustments are made. And, good for you choosing to invest in your children more than your career. Your children need you a lot more than they need money. I waited until mine were 15 and 17 to go back to school.