My son just turned 2. His father and I have set up our own payment arrangements for child support without having to go through the court system. He only makes $8 an hour, I don't make much more, he pays me $200 a month and a lot of people are saying that's not enough. I am really struggling with my bills and want to ask him for $50 more a month. He is already paying me too much?
2007-06-28 07:09:57 · 9 answers · asked by Momin2005 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I believe that it depends on how many hours he work a week. In a 40 hour week, this means that he work for $320 a week or $1280 a month before taxes.
You must remember that it is not your son's father responsibility to pay your bills. It is his responsibility to just contribute a reasonable portion of his wages to the welfare of his son. It is also the responsibility of the mother to also contribute financially to her son's welfare also.
Your son's father works for a gross pay of $1280 before tax. From that he have to most likely pay for transportation to & from work whether this is by bus or car. He have to feed himself, he have his own bills to pay, he have to clothe himself, & goodness knows what other responsibilities he have. Maybe he too is struggling to pay his own bills.
He is only human & seem pretty decent in that he accepts his responsibility to his son without the court system. When too much pressure is put on people, they break & sometimes the little u have u may end up losing.
U have posted how much money he makes & what he gives u. U havent said how much u make & how much u contribute to your son. My advice is to take the initiative & try finding other ways of increasing your income.
2007-06-28 07:39:17 · answer #1 · answered by Ethslan 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
actually - I think the people that are telling you that that is not enough are wrong... for what he is making, that amount is fair...actually, I think its more then what he should be paying. If you are stuggling - maybe you could agree that he takes the child more or something like that- something that might benefit you both- he will get to spend more time w/ the child- and you won't have to spend money on the child during that time..
If you are curious how much he SHOULD be paying, and you know how much he makes a month - you could go and find a child support calculator online...
they are easy to find..
you just type in your state(yahoo.com or some search engine) and type child support calculator.
ex. Illinois child support calculator.
that way you can figure what would happen(close to) if you would go to court for child support.
2007-06-30 04:10:31 · answer #2 · answered by ★★★ Katharine ♥♥♥♥ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Look at the big picture. If you take him to court to get more money and he is already struggling, you will breed major resentment. The best way to get him to come up with more is to keep him involved with the son you two share. As his income rises he will WANT to do more for your son. If you go the court route then you may face things like him trying to gain custody, bad feelings between you two (which has a horrible effect on your kids), and lawyer fees. As long as he is paying you a fair amount then I'd say you will be further ahead to keep doing it between yourselves.
My son's mother and I have had this kind of an arrangement for 9 years and we view it as a team effort to raise our son. I respect her greatly for not going the "make him pay til he bleeds" route.
My daughter's mother and I went the court route and she and I can hardly stand to be around each other. Our daughter thinks I'm some kind of monster and is completely out of control with anger issues. I have spent thousands of dollars on both lawyers and therapists just trying to have a relationship with her. That money could have been used for her college.
Which child do you think got the better deal? Hint: It wasn't the one with the greedy mom.
2007-06-28 07:45:20 · answer #3 · answered by J D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He makes $8 an hour and you want more!
You are getting about 20% of his disposable income (I estimate it at 1039 per month). Most states base child support at 15-17% -
Remember you are getting the tax benefits and if it would go to court you would have to share those- You may actually succeed in reducing the amount you get on a yearly basis.
2007-06-28 07:26:29 · answer #4 · answered by professorc 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If you think he's not paying you enough, then you can ask him for more money and then take him to court if he doesn't give you more. It's hard to say because neither one of you should be so financially strapped that you can't pay your bills, and unless the court gets involved he could cut you off at any time and you'd REALLY be in trouble. So my advice is to take it to court and let a judge decide. Someone's opinion as to how much he should pay isn't worth anything, but a court order to pay is.
2007-06-28 07:15:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
acualy for a 40 hour work week x 4 weeks in a month in ill. hes already paying you 8 dollars too much! if he drinks or works any overtime ask for the money anyway lol
2007-06-28 07:15:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Ethslan: "You must remember that it is not your son's father's responsibility to pay your bills. It is his responsibility to just contribute a reasonable portion of his wages to the welfare of his son."
Brilliantly put.
2007-06-28 11:33:04 · answer #7 · answered by willliewaggler 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, he is not. In most southern states he would only pay $40 a week, which is LESS than you are getting right now. I suggest you get a second job and apply for daycare assistance, food stamps, etc.
2007-06-28 07:14:28 · answer #8 · answered by cyanne2ak 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
eight dollars an hour?? wow. $200 a month is pretty steep for him. but he must take care of his responsibility. I don't think that $50 more is unreasonable to ask.
The father needs to find a better paying job, though.
2007-06-28 07:14:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋