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what if you can't pay child support?

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  • what if you can't pay child support?

    I've been separated for 3 years..the first two my ex paid me child support.
    He made $55,000 from WSIB non taxable and I made $32,000.
    When he finished his retraining, WSIB reduced his benefits to $22,000 as he was supposed to get a job. He did get a commission job but quit that after 3 months.
    We share the kids equally. Well, one lives with me full time, one lives with him and comes to me every other weekend and one go back and forth 50/50

    Now he wants $200 or so a month from me for child support.
    I'm not saying that it was ok when he paid but that I shouldn't have to...what I'm saying is I'm living paycheque to paycheque. I, literally, do NOT have the money to pay him anything. In the meantime he is sitting at home with no job living just off his WSIB income.

    What happens if you financially can't pay child support? What are my options?

  • #2
    Originally posted by bookgirl1209 View Post
    I've been separated for 3 years..the first two my ex paid me child support.
    He made $55,000 from WSIB non taxable and I made $32,000.
    When he finished his retraining, WSIB reduced his benefits to $22,000 as he was supposed to get a job. He did get a commission job but quit that after 3 months.
    We share the kids equally. Well, one lives with me full time, one lives with him and comes to me every other weekend and one go back and forth 50/50

    Now he wants $200 or so a month from me for child support.
    I'm not saying that it was ok when he paid but that I shouldn't have to...what I'm saying is I'm living paycheque to paycheque. I, literally, do NOT have the money to pay him anything. In the meantime he is sitting at home with no job living just off his WSIB income.

    What happens if you financially can't pay child support? What are my options?
    If you have court order nobody care can you pay or not. Basically you life will be destroyed by FRO... Literary. A lot of folks end up bankrupt. Some kill themselves...

    If you have kids equally and both have income you can calculate it using free tools on the internet... Will it help you to get money ? No.. but that may help you see some relatively official number what you both have to discuss...

    Comment


    • #3
      Here's the thing...he just recently paid an arrears to me and as of right now neither of us is paying.He is taking me back to court since he is not working.

      My lawyer says we will try to imput him income so that our incomesare equal.
      I have proposed to him that we just call it even since he will be getting a job soon ( I would think) and if we go to court now to get an amount set, we will just have to go back again to get it adjusted. I'm trying to mitigate legal costs which I also can't afford.

      He has said he will not discuss it with me - I should call my lawyer because he insists I will have to pay him and he will not be imputted income.

      Mind you we are not saying imput income so that he pays me. I'm just saying that surely he can make $12,000 in a year so that our incomes are equal and neither of us will pay.

      My question is, I guess, when we go to court do I get the opportunity to tell the judge or someone that I have nothing left over after paying my bills and buying food for my kids. Often times I have less than $10 in my bank account on the day before I get paid. So to come up with $200 a month to pay him when he is capable of getting a job is beyond my financial ability.

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      • #4
        The bottom line is that you have to pay. No ifs ands or buts.
        Who currently collects the CCTB/UCCB for the kids?

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        • #5
          We both do.

          I don't know what to do then. I can't even pay it with my credit card because that's maxed out from the year and a half he wasn't contributing toward the health benefits that I have to pay for every month for the kids to be covered.

          I can see me losing my house and having to give up the kids to him because I can't afford to feed them because he needs to get child support from me instead of getting off his ass and getting even a part time job.

          There is something wrong with a system that lets someone drag everything on for years and then lets them sit back and not work at all while the other person goes bankrupt and loses everything.

          Comment


          • #6
            You say you can't afford it, but he should be getting a job soon which will end your CS payments to him, YET you are paying a lawyer $100s/hour to fight it??

            That does not make sense.

            You say that you can't afford to pay him, yet he is making less than you and raising the kids equally with you. So it is okay for him to live on less than you? You took CS from him when he was making more, now he is making less, and its time for you to pay - you are being a hypocrite.

            If he can work, he should. BUT if he is not, and is accurately reporting his income for CS, then he is suffering more by not working than you.

            Just go by the CS guidelines, adjust yearly based on tax returns. Arguing that you can't afford it is not a valid reason to avoid paying - that is your problem, not his.

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            • #7
              I am trying NOT to pay a lawyer $100's of dollars. I have for the last 3 years always tried to work things out with him and instead he tells me that we will go through lawyers and in the end we end up settling for what we would have had we just talked it out.

              He also vacated the matrimonial home while it was for sale (agianst the advice of the judge) and moved himself and 3 kids in with his parents for two years while requiring me to pay have the mortgage and taxes and insurance (which, by the way goes up if no one is living in the house.)

              He has managed to get a new vehicle, a new houseful of furniture, and a NEW HOUSE all the while crying poor that he only makes $22000. He QUIT a job.
              And contributes NOTHING to my middle child...not one red cent for anything and hasn't for two years. Doesn't see her, doesn't have her over, doesn't take her out for lunch for her birthday.

              If I could afford to pay him and it would just put a crimp in my lifestyle I would do it because it's only fair ...but what I'm saying is I DON'T HAVE $2 LEFT OVER AFTER PAYING MY MONTHLY BILLS NEVER MIND $200 TO PAY HIM SO HE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORK AT ALL!
              I make $34000 and pay $2400 for health benefits for all the children. He doesn't even contribute to that.

              All I wanted to know was is there any recourse if you cannot afford it and if you can't afford it - what happens to you?

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              • #8
                You can apply for financial hardship

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                • #9
                  2400 for health benefits? Do you live in the US? Ouch. I pay about 160 per month here in Ottawa...

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                  • #10
                    Bookgirl, At your income its not likely you will be able to make a claim for financial hardship. I only know what happens when it is a man who is struggling to pay (going further in debt monthly) because of it. Living off of nothing and not having money for food and I cannot claim it. Since your a woman you have a much better chance at what you are seeking. Its true though, lots of people self rep for court, it sucks but if you do not have money for Child Support it looks silly when you show up in court with a Lawyer.

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                    • #11
                      Not to be rude, but get a second job then.

                      I had all FOUR of my kids, working full time and receiving ZERO child support, but I worked a full day job, and then I delivered newspapers to supplement so I could afford to keep a roof over our heads, clothes on their backs & food on the table.

                      It was ok for him to fork money over to you, but not the other way around? Why is it about "him" getting money, or "you" getting money? It's for the KIDS; what part of that doesn't make any sense to people.

                      You shouldn't have a credit card if you can't afford to make the payments; budget & learn to live on cash. Become frugal, learn to find bargains and stop living beyond your means.

                      If you can't afford the bills living in your house, then why do you still own it? Sell it, put money away, and live in something you can afford.

                      I'm not trying to be nasty or harsh, but when I read people whining about having to pay child support, it irks the hell out of me.

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                      • #12
                        To answer the op's question, worst case;

                        Incarceration for a period of not more than 180 days, served concurrently and or intermittently.

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                        • #13
                          Don't waste money on a lawyer. It contradicts your financial situation. If your ex insists on taking you back to court, you are going back to court. There is a formula the judge will follow and thats, that. You can file an answer with an affidavit with accompanying financial statements that support that you are in a desperate financial state and hope that the judge will show mercy to you in the best interests of the children.

                          Go to a FLIC office and ask for some guidance with your paperwork for the court. I can't think of anything else a lawyer could do to help your situation and you can plead your case to the judge yourself

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                          • #14
                            Wow Kimberley,

                            I believe I've said already that I would have no problem paying ht echild support if I could afford it.
                            I own a house, a very modest house because when I left him I discovered that to rent would cost me more than buying this particular house. I cashed in RRSP's to buy it. Renting some place would be $100 more than what my mortgage and taxes are.
                            I had the credit card before I left and thank god I did because I needed it to pay for my oldest child's braces and our health care because he didn't make any contribution to that.

                            I don't in anyway live above my means. I buy all my clothes, if I get any, at thrift stores, I haven't got my hair professionally cut in 3 years, I budget for groceries to the point that sometimes we go without things. I'm driving a 13 year old car. The daughter that lives with me doesn't get to do much in the way of extracurriculars but her sister who lives with him has been on 4 trips across Canada in the last 3 year with her youth group.

                            I work as many hours as I can at my job.

                            Agian my only question in this forum was "Do I have any options if I financially can't afford to pay?'

                            But thanks anyway for the insults and the attacks on my frugality.

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                            • #15
                              I don't know, but may be viable to call the bank. Remortgage the property to a payment you can afford and to accommodate the CS. Looks like a few years equity built up, considering your home is worth more now than you paid for it and maybe secure a line of credit with that to cover in the tight months.

                              Comment

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