Property in lieu of child support

[stimpy403]

Hello,

Working on a seperation agreement with my ex and am stuck on 1 point. I'd rather she remain in the matrimonial home as the children are comfortable, and in the end she will pay a lot less on the mortgage than she will in current rental market. If I were to sign over my rights (around $40,000) in lieu of a reduction to child support (Have come across a couple of postings that state this can happen as its a benifit to the children) what is the best way to calculate the reduction amount.

There are 3 children involved and I figured if each were to benifit $150-$200 per month it would be a fair value. Then figure out how many months are left according to each age and multiply that by $150-$200. This would come out to a total reduction of $21600-$28800 over the timeline until the kids reach 18. Seems like it would be a fair deal as if we were to sell the house I would get an instant payment of around $40,000. Obviously there will have to be a clause for when the kids are over 18 if they decide to go to university.

Has anyone else ever had to go through this process? I've seen sites that mention it, but no real way it would be calculated.

Thanks

[standing on the sidelines]

you are not taking into consideration if incomes go up or down, section 7 expenses etc

[ddol1]

you put up a post with much detail lacking to determine fairness.

You are assuming that with what you feel is an appropriate reduction in child support today can actually be carried off by your ex. To have the house also means to carry the burden of the upkeep and utility/taxes etc. and now you are calculating a substantial reduction in monthly cash flow which is child support for the children so they can have clothes, eat and a few other basics.

Then again perhaps if this is the route you go, could you back end the deal so the support is reduced down the road?? I have seen a few times where the sale of the house was just put off until the last of the children finished school and were off on their own - the house could then be sold and the proceeds divided?

[dadtotheend]

Very dangerous option.

What happnens if/when she burns through the $40K lickety split, then claims that she is broke and that she needs CS to support the kids?

The judge will say that the best interests of the kids prevails, they need the support and too bad so sad love Dad -----> you get to pay, even though you paid earlier.

[stimpy403]

Hi and thanks for the replies...

Standing on the Sidelines - The amount I pay will increase and decrease according to Income and section 7 expenses, the amount that would be taken off each month would remain the same.

ddol1 - At the moment it is an assumption, I was trying to find a base amount to start at, I've come accross a couple of settlements online that were around the same so just started there. Holding off selling the house won't work as I'm trying to purchase a new house and with my name on the mortgage the banks are saying I need to apply as though I'm getting a 2nd mortgage and need a much larger down payment. Problem for the ex is currently the mortgage is $500-700 less than what would have to be paid to rent something similar. I was hoping to make it a bit easier by having her just take over the mortgage, and at same time lower my payments a bit.

dadtotheend- I'm hoping that if a judge were to sign off on the agreement (once the seperation agreement is done, I'm going to file for divorce with same agreement in place for judge to approve/deny. Will be a clause that if the judge were to deny then entire agreement will be nil and void). So if Judge were to okay then she sells house and blows all the cash she would be stuck with the lower amount (and in reality if this scenario were to happen I would most likely go after custody as would be a great risk to childrens well being!)

Any more thoughts, or has anyone done this in the past. Worst case scenario, we just sell it and share whats left. In reality its better for me to go that route as I can make more off the money investing in another house and reducing my mortgage by that much right off the start...was just trying to assist on the ex's part a little.

Thanks

[shellshocked22]

For what its worth, my understanding is that any variance to "table" CS could be challenged by the ex later if she changes her mind and odds are the courts would go back to "table" amount since it's for child. Nothing guaranteed of course but courts tend to consider based on needs of the child and not what's "fair".