From our past court experiences with child support, "I want money!" always wins; even if it means the judge ruling against the child support guidelines.
Go figure! Make me wonder why we even have "guidelines!"
Many of you know my and my husband's situation when it comes to dealing with his son's mother. Nothing matters except how much money she can get out of us. And she stops at nothing!
Long story short, my husband - who worked in financial services for many years - hasn't had very good luck maintaining a secure, salaried job since he lost his employment when the market crashed in October 2008. He has been unemployed for half of 2009, and during the other half, has been taking odd jobs and working outside his field in order to make a buck.
Because of his lack of steady income, he asked the court for a reduction in child support, yet instead got ordered an increase, based on a job he had for only 3 days on the day of court, and one he lost only 2 months later due to company "re-organization." Since that time, we have been desperately trying to determine a more appropriate amount of child support, to no avail.
Basically, my stepson's mother doesn't care about my husband's financial circumstance, all she cares about is how much money she can get.
She is now going after my income, claiming that my husband is "voluntarily unemployed or underemployed," and that I'm supporting him, therefore I should pay child support based on our household income.
My husband has sent her several offers to settle, ALL abiding by the guidelines. He has offered to pay child support based on his previous year's total income (as per his income tax return), or based on the average income of the past 3 years. The only 'condition' is that whichever method of calculation is used, that is the method that will be used for EVERY calculation, on a yearly basis. No more of this "we'll calculate child support using the method that will yield the highest amount" bullsh*t, that has been the way his child support has been calculated for the past 3 years, even in court.
The problem is that my stepson's mother doesn't want to agree to that. She feels she is entitled to "whichever method of calculation yields the highest amount at that specific point in time."
She has declined all the offers, and plans to file her own motion for child support, claiming that my husband is voluntarily underemployed.
We know this because my husband attempted to meet with her to discuss child support options, and the meeting was not at all what we expected. She did not want to discuss calculation methods or the offers served on her, but came with a list of 30 questions that she wanted answers to. Questions pertaining to his employment history, his job search, his living expenses, his standard of living, and most shocking... my income! She even had the nerve to ask for "documentation" in terms of original copies of his job contracts, pay stubs, ROEs, etc!
Needless to say, my husband provided her with zero answers, and in an angry and frustrated huff, she ran away crying. (Her requested meetings ALWAYS end this way.)
All we want is for child support to be calculated using <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId><META content="Microsoft Word 12" name=Generator><META content="Microsoft Word 12" name=Originator><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5C msohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel=File-List><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel=themeData><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel=colorSchemeMapping><STYLE><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;}@page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--></STYLE>one just method of calculation, a method which shall be followed yearly for all child support adjustments in order to "provide the fairest determination of actual income and determine an amount that is fair and reasonable in light of any pattern of income, fluctuation in income, or receipt of a non-recurring amount during those years." (As written in the Federal Child Support Guidelines.)
Why can't the court give us that one just ruling?
Why does "I Want Money!" ALWAYS win?
Does anyone have any advice on how we could attain a fair and proper ruling in this regard?
We are at our wits' end!
Thank you in advance.
Go figure! Make me wonder why we even have "guidelines!"
Many of you know my and my husband's situation when it comes to dealing with his son's mother. Nothing matters except how much money she can get out of us. And she stops at nothing!
Long story short, my husband - who worked in financial services for many years - hasn't had very good luck maintaining a secure, salaried job since he lost his employment when the market crashed in October 2008. He has been unemployed for half of 2009, and during the other half, has been taking odd jobs and working outside his field in order to make a buck.
Because of his lack of steady income, he asked the court for a reduction in child support, yet instead got ordered an increase, based on a job he had for only 3 days on the day of court, and one he lost only 2 months later due to company "re-organization." Since that time, we have been desperately trying to determine a more appropriate amount of child support, to no avail.
Basically, my stepson's mother doesn't care about my husband's financial circumstance, all she cares about is how much money she can get.
She is now going after my income, claiming that my husband is "voluntarily unemployed or underemployed," and that I'm supporting him, therefore I should pay child support based on our household income.
My husband has sent her several offers to settle, ALL abiding by the guidelines. He has offered to pay child support based on his previous year's total income (as per his income tax return), or based on the average income of the past 3 years. The only 'condition' is that whichever method of calculation is used, that is the method that will be used for EVERY calculation, on a yearly basis. No more of this "we'll calculate child support using the method that will yield the highest amount" bullsh*t, that has been the way his child support has been calculated for the past 3 years, even in court.
The problem is that my stepson's mother doesn't want to agree to that. She feels she is entitled to "whichever method of calculation yields the highest amount at that specific point in time."
She has declined all the offers, and plans to file her own motion for child support, claiming that my husband is voluntarily underemployed.
We know this because my husband attempted to meet with her to discuss child support options, and the meeting was not at all what we expected. She did not want to discuss calculation methods or the offers served on her, but came with a list of 30 questions that she wanted answers to. Questions pertaining to his employment history, his job search, his living expenses, his standard of living, and most shocking... my income! She even had the nerve to ask for "documentation" in terms of original copies of his job contracts, pay stubs, ROEs, etc!
Needless to say, my husband provided her with zero answers, and in an angry and frustrated huff, she ran away crying. (Her requested meetings ALWAYS end this way.)
All we want is for child support to be calculated using <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId><META content="Microsoft Word 12" name=Generator><META content="Microsoft Word 12" name=Originator><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5C msohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel=File-List><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel=themeData><LINK href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMagda%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsoh tmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel=colorSchemeMapping><STYLE><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;}@page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1 {page:Section1;}--></STYLE>one just method of calculation, a method which shall be followed yearly for all child support adjustments in order to "provide the fairest determination of actual income and determine an amount that is fair and reasonable in light of any pattern of income, fluctuation in income, or receipt of a non-recurring amount during those years." (As written in the Federal Child Support Guidelines.)
Why can't the court give us that one just ruling?
Why does "I Want Money!" ALWAYS win?
Does anyone have any advice on how we could attain a fair and proper ruling in this regard?
We are at our wits' end!
Thank you in advance.
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