Mediation parenting time agreement and child support

[guydeluxe2018]

I hope everyone is good .

We had a trial scheduling conference on April 03,2023, and the Judge sent us back to mediation because she felt that our final OTS are closer than before.

AT mediation we agreed in a 2 week cycle I will have the child 6 out of the 14 days on an interim basis ; we signed the agreement and I filed it with the courts and requested a change of the interim order whereby I was the child 6/30 days. We have been following the agreement since May 01,2023.

We have a trial scheduling conference scheduled for June 02,2023, and Iam wondering if I can request a change in child support because of material change, specifically, the child is spending more time with me, and my part time hours have reduced by 75% because of the new parenting arrangement; financially I am struggling and I can't continue paying child support,rent, bills etc.

My ex is not agreeable to filing a child support change on consent.

All your opinions are valued.

[blinkandimgone]

Can you clarify:

"AT mediation we agreed in a 2 week cycle I will have the child 6 out of the 14 days on an interim basis ; we signed the agreement and I filed it with the courts and requested a change of the interim order whereby I was the child 6/30 days."

So you have the child 6/14 days or 6/30?

6/14 = 12/30, just barely reaching the 40% mark where you could consider seeking offset CS, so it does make a difference.

[guydeluxe2018]

The month of May will be a transition period ,starting in June it will be a full 50/50. In the agreement it only stated that May is interim but didn't go further to state that in June it will be 50/50. When I submitted the agreement I stated that we agreed starting June it will be 50/50.

[guydeluxe2018]

I filed on consent and she didn't dispute that starting in June it will be 50/50.

[noteasy]

The question will be why you are not working and the solution for child support will likely be to impute an income upon you of at least minimum wage for the purposes of support.

Your whole situation as far as child care goes is unknown.
start building those supports so that someone is caring for the child before and after school while you work.

Don’t rely on your ex. If your ex is caring for the child more hours than you and those hours add up to more than 60/40 split then she will not have to pay you child support.

rught now at 50/50 you both contribute to child support. Make sure you each pay each other the monthly amount. Try to avoid offset amounts and so allow each other to collect tax credits for the child. You collect one year, she collects the other.

the ex works?

[blinkandimgone]

The solution to having reduced hours is child care, which falls under section 7 expenses when it's used to facilitate the parents working.

This allows you to have your full income to support the child, and not impact your parenting time. No idea how old your child is, but there are tonnes of resources for childcare, either privately or EDP through the schools. Find out what your options are and include daycare as a section 7 expense in your mediation.

[guydeluxe2018]

I have a full-time job and to supplement income I got a part time job. The reduced hours are at part time and it is affecting my finances and full time job alone is not enough to cover child support and bills

[rockscan]

The part time job contributed to your cs amounts. Never get a second job as it has an impact. With 50/50 you will have offset. Just quit the pt job and adjust cs accordingly. It may be tight for a few years (and I say this as the wife of a man who paid full table on EI) but you will get through it.

[guydeluxe2018]

Thank you to everyone and your input is valued. Good news I just the order stating on the interim starting June 01,2023 we will be having 50/50

[noteasy]

The part time job contributed to your cs amounts. Never get a second job as it has an impact. With 50/50 you will have offset. Just quit the pt job and adjust cs accordingly. It may be tight for a few years (and I say this as the wife of a man who paid full table on EI) but you will get through it.

If offset amounts are paid it will dictate who gets to collect the $13K tax deduction for eligible spouse.
It is best each pay each other child support and NOT an offset amount unless one side is willing to give up with significant credit.

I also don't understand "never get a second job" earning more income is a personal choice not getting one in spite. Kind of like turn down work promotions because your ex will get some of the money. Maybe both parents are doing that and making for a worse situation for everyone.
Maybe you mean don't get a second PT job because if you quit it you will be imputed an income? (I don't think that would happen but I don't know).

[blinkandimgone]

You don't get a second job specifically to manage child support payments. The income from that job will be included and increase your child support amount, defeating the purpose of the second job. There are more effective ways to manage.

And yes, if historically you made Xx amount having to jobs and pay support on the total amount, then quit one job and attempt to reduce CS, you can be on the hook for the full amount.

[noteasy]

You don't get a second job specifically to manage child support payments. The income from that job will be included and increase your child support amount, defeating the purpose of the second job. There are more effective ways to manage.

Definitely disagree on that one. The poster gets "taxed" the CS rate but they still take home money. What other ways are there to manage? Under the table jobs and income are options for many but other than that I know of none.

And yes, if historically you made Xx amount having to jobs and pay support on the total amount, then quit one job and attempt to reduce CS, you can be on the hook for the full amount.

Definitely looking up caselaw on this would be good.
Going from 55 hours to 40 hours by quitting an extra job is not exactly being "underemployed".
It would be draconian, the law is sometimes that.

[rockscan]

Actually, getting a second job without proper tax shelters in place is a bad idea come tax time for anyone. Having two jobs without extra tax taken off means more money in May. How do I know? Because I worked in accounting and learned the reasoning behind tax rates for one single job are not enough to cover two.

For those paying support, it is worse because you never really see that money and you end up paying support based on it. The guidelines don't take into account the net income and you are basically running on a hamster wheel for no reason. Don't get a second job if you have a full time one to make cs payments.

[noteasy]

The money comes back at the end of the tax year.
If I had 1 job that paid 50K I would pay the same tax rate as someone that had 2 jobs paying 50K.

In the past I have asked that I not be taxed on my paycheck because I would be getting it back anyways. I signed a piece of paper for the accountant and I was all good.
Having 2 jobs shows a lot of character but the stress levels alone would have me say to avoid it but people do what they need to.

[rockscan]

I've worked a full time job and a part time job both with regular rates and added tax off the second job. It does not come back in scenario one. You pay extra tax as your TOTAL gross income is considered. With two jobs you do not have the proper rate of tax for both of them combined. I lived it, I paid tax on it at the end of the year, I did not get anything back.