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Waive Child Support - is this possible?

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  • Waive Child Support - is this possible?

    My ex and I are separated and we have signed off on our Agreement. We are in some disagreement over contributions to childcare as this was not spelled out clearly enough in the SA.

    A new questions has come up with regards to Child Support. We have two kids - 9 and 3 and we share joint custody 50/50. Our agreement states that "the parties hereto waive any right to child support at this time" "In lieu of child support we will split the cost of extra curricular with wife contributing 55% and husband 45%. For daycare we will "mutually agree to the cost of child care and the division of payment for the child care."

    I have written in another thread and received some answers in regards to a stalemate of my ex now saying she will only pay 50/50 for daycare because we share joint custody.

    My new question - Can I reopen the clause of waiving child support?

    What would it take at this point to have child support be applied according to the tables? Is this something we have to go to court over? Is it even possible for parents to waive child support as it is for the child?

    Our incomes are 90 000 mine 130 000 hers.

    Is it true that when we file for a divorce, that the courts won't accept a difference in salaries without some equal "weighting" of burden for childcare?

    One lawyer drafted everything and then I received indep legal advice. The legal advice never pointed any of this out...what it amounted to is - here is what the agreement says..are you okay with this..okay sign here. If it makes a difference it was the father of the lawyer that drafted our agreement.

    The final statement in our agreement states that it has been agreed that the children shall be residing with each for more then 40% of the time and as such no child support shall be owing until such time as this arrangement ceases to be the case.

    Any feedback, help or suggestions is most appreciated.
    Thanks!

  • #2
    I'll bet if you start making 160K per year she'll think expenses should be shared by income and CS should start.

    Each to their own, but if you went in front of a judge, CS (offset method) would be ordered and EXTRA ORDINARY expenses shared according to income. (ie some costs are included in CS and those should be split 50/50).

    She makes more, she should spend more to raise the kids - that's 'just the way it is' - but of course you can agree to anything you want, as long as it is reasonable, which your agreement is.

    If it was me, I would have an agreement that says you simply do CS set off method adjusted automatically each year based on tax returns, and special expenses are shared by that ratio - anyone who argues against that is not being reasonable (ie they make more money and want to keep it, but when the tables turn, I'd bet they'd want it).

    All child care should be shared according to income.

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    • #3
      Thanks Billm for your suggestion. Would this be an amendment I would draft and ask her to sign? I'm assuming she will tell me no way. Do I have any other options?

      Is it true that a judge must be satisfied re: equal weighting of incomes for support of children before a divorce is granted? Could I contest it at that point.

      Should I register the agreement with the court now? How do u do that?

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      • #4
        Agreement should have been registered by the lawyers. If it's not, there's a process to do so, contact the courthouse or the FLIC and they can probably help you out on what to do to have it registered with the courts.

        Usually you would use set off, but with your incomes both being so high, it's arguable on whether either of you really "need" CS. Of course, if you find the situation has changed, then CS is easily re-visited at any point.

        Re: divorce, it depends on the judge and whether it's contested or not. The judge can certainly revisit the issue if they think it necessary, but most times it's a rubber stamp if it's been agreed otherwise and there's independent legal advice backing it.

        With you being the GUY and making less, you have a better than average chance of it just going through...were the roles were reversed, I wouldn't say the same. (Like it or not, it is how family law often works, it still favors the mother)

        Comment


        • #5
          Joint application for divorce question

          If we file a joint application for divorce a few months from now is it possible to open up this issue of child support due to the fact that she has refused to mutually agree on the division of payment for child care?

          Is that the time to raise the issue or should I suggest mediation/ arbitration now or let it go? Her income will increase quickly over the next few years as she is moving up the ladder. I am a teacher and mine stays the same aside from the 2% inflation increase per year. While the gross may seem like a lot the take home is really not that fantastic due to the debt I have had to absorb when we split.

          The statement in our agreement refers to waiving child support and then in lieu of that we will mutually agree to the payments. As of right now we cannot mutually agree.

          Will a precedent be set if I let it go now and want to reopen it later? While we both earn a decent income, as time goes by and activities increase in costs, my ability to afford them for my kids will be affected if we have to go with the 50/50 split from this point forward.

          Any suggestions?
          Last edited by donnel8; 02-24-2011, 04:59 PM. Reason: spelling

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