The Bitch is Back!

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for more money, that is.

I posted this in the 'family courts' forum also, but maybe it will get more traffic here:

My FDH and I recently bought a house and his mother loaned him some money for the down-payment. His old place sold and the closing is coming up. He'll need the money from this sell to pay his mom back and go towards expenses of the new house.

Well, whadya know, BM must've found out his old place sold because he just got notice in the mail that she's taking him back for an increase in CS. She just took him back last year and got $35 more per month...hehe. Anyway, he hasn't received a raise or anything, so she must feel that she should get more because of the sale of the house (she never lived there and they were never married).

Anyway, can one party get a raise in CS because the other party sold their house?

Thanks.

Oh, and we're in PA

So not all taxable income,

So not all taxable income, just employment earnings?

Thanks. I'm not all that

Thanks.

I'm not all that worried now, but I don't think we'll be getting married any time soon! She'd definitely file again after that so she could benefit off of a two household income. I will not support her unnecessary expenses at the cost of my future security.

They will not include your

They will not include your income. Only his.

That's what I thought, but

That's what I thought, but FDH says they go by 'household income'. I don't know, I guess we need to do some further research!

I've read a lot of laws in

I've read a lot of laws in california, it's all on income. We made $40k on selling the condo and boy after paying off his credit cards and my ring, buying appliances and then like 15k$ on this wedding....BM couldn't get any money because we used it!

All that work for 35$ more?? How much do you think she paid that lawyer, yikes! Hopefully someone from PA that knows more can post soon for you but I've never heard of a house sale being used to get more CS. What a rude ass women.

ss12 told his mom that we bought this house....gotta love it. BM asked my FDH about it and he was like no, we're renting. Ugh. Parrot kid. No BM, we don't know where we want to live because the bay area sucks and so does the valley so we are just renting, don't get too excited.

She didn't have a lawyer,

She didn't have a lawyer, they just went into the domestic relations office where she pitched a fit and made herself look pretty stupid. I'm sure she'll do the same this time.

FDH hasn't had a pay raise, so we know she's just trying to get more money since his condo sold, and we aren't sure whether or not that could happen.

'What a rude ass woman' is right!

I would not think so. If he

I would not think so. If he sold his car, all of his furniture or a kidney, he does not owe any of the proceeds to her. It's not income for the purpose of child support (at least, it shouldn't be).

Is she doing this on her own with a lawyer? Because where I live, the state will only do a requested review for modification every 3 years.

I agree, it certainly

I agree, it certainly shouldn't be.

She got mad after we bought a house together and has filed twice in the last 13 mos. for increases.

As far as we know, she has requested the review without a lawyer, and I guess you can do that more than once every three years in PA.

Wow, every time I try to give her the benefit of the doubt, she pulls some shit like this.

Well, that blows. Not only is

Well, that blows.

Not only is it every 3 years here but for a change to happen, it has to be a certain percent. The last time BM tried for a modification, they said it should go up $40.00 a month but they would not put it through because it was not enough of a change. Hahahahaha, she was pissed!

My SD is 22 now and I don't miss that crap at all.

It shouldn't affect it all if

It shouldn't affect it all if that is what the order is for. The amount that he is actually paying is what they will use.

Of course, it will depend on

Of course, it will depend on how much his income has changed, too, whether it's gone up enough to change the CS he pays now by that 15%.

When BM filed for modification, she had no idea that my husband had been laid off (so I guess they just imputed his income). It was hilarious because for some really odd reason known only to God, she waited 9 years to request a modification, so she was positive she would get an increase. NOT.

Happiest day of step life, getting that letter that her increase was denied (besides CS ending for good).

We're in PA and we've gone

We're in PA and we've gone through similar nonsense. It's based on income and only extraordinary circumstances will change that (i.e. bio parent makes $30K a year but his/her spouse makes $1.5 million a year). I'd still encourage you to consult a lawyer since surprises are always possible. BM has hit us with some doozies and we will NEVER deal with her and the court system again without an attorney present.

And between the two of us, we'll be looking for a better lawyer next time, too.

Thanks for bringing up those

Thanks for bringing up those points aswang.

We're in PA and, yeah, it's

We're in PA and, yeah, it's income based and there is no restrictions on filing for modification. I highly encourage consulting an attorney and have them present in for the support hearing. Trust me, please.

Thanks. After further

Thanks. After further investigation, FDH doesn't think she'll be able to get much of an increase, if any at all, so it wouldn't be worth it to get a lawyer.

Damn, you either have some

Damn, you either have some law schooling under your belt, or have been through the ringer with CS!! From what you've written about your BM, I would think it's the latter?

In my state, you cannot get a

In my state, you cannot get a modification unless the increase/decrease would be 10% (or maybe 15%) and that is income only. If he RENTED OUT the place, then his income would be increased if she could prove it or if he admitted to it. I believe that the sale of the place would be similar to an inheritance.

I think FDH read something

I think FDH read something about inheritance being figured in when he was reading PA's support statutes.

I just found this on a PA

I just found this on a PA site if anyone is interested:

Modifying Child Support

Modifications to child support will not happen automatically. One of the parents must request the change by a formal motion to the court. The court that makes the original child support award has the authority to modify the order if conditions change. Either parent may request the court to change the order throughout the time the child is under 18.

When can child support orders be changed?

Child support orders cannot be changed on a whim or because a court thinks that "it is time." It must be based on evidence proving that there is good reason to make the change. This usually requires that a person who wants to make the change show a changed circumstance. You must show that the facts that existed when the last order was entered have changed. (In the many years a child support order is in place, the parent's circumstances may change many times.) For example, in New York, if one parent's income has changed (either gone up or down) by at least 25%, this is considered a big enough change to require a change in the support order. You can request a modification for a lesser change in income, but will not necessarily be guaranteed a change in the support order.

What circumstances might require a change in support?

Many different scenarios can create changed circumstances. For example, if the paying parent has had a large increase in income, the court can order the child support increased. Or, if the child's needs grow, such as if the child becomes ill or disabled, the amount of support can be ordered raised. Sometimes the mere passage of time creates the changed circumstances. For example, as a child grows older, it becomes more expensive to buy clothes, food and other necessities. These increased expenses can be enough to justify a raise in the support order.

Support can also be reduced if you can show why this would be fair. For example, support payments may be reduced if the custodial parent inherits money, gets a large raise or otherwise has an increased ability to support the children. Or, if the paying parent loses his or her job, the court can be asked to reduce support during the period of unemployment.

Are verbal changes OK?

A mistake many parents make is to reach informal oral agreements modifying child support. This can lead to future problems. For example, the following scenario is very common:

Peter paid his former wife Alice $400 a month to support their son. When Peter was laid off, he called Alice and said, "I just got laid off. I can't afford to pay $400 right now." Alice responded, "Okay. Pay $100 for now."

Ten months later, Peter was rehired and raised his support payments back to $400. During his layoff, Peter had made 10 payments of $100. Alice called and told Peter she expected him to pay the $3000 he had not paid during the layoff. Peter replied that he did not owe the money because they had agreed to the child support reduction during his layoff. Alice disagreed. She claimed that she had not given up the right to $400 a month but had merely permitted Peter to defer full payment until he was rehired.

When Peter refused to pay, Alice took him to court. The judge ruled that the evidence did not support Peter's claim that he was excused from $300 per month of his support during his layoff. He was ordered to pay the $3000 to Alice at the rate of $100 a month, in addition to the usual payments of monthly support.

The problem with oral agreements is that they are often vaguely worded and the memories or understanding of the parties may often differ. Any agreement you make to modify child support should be put in writing so that there are no misunderstandings later on. It is also a good idea to have a judge sign a court order based on the agreement.

So it sounds as though a

So it sounds as though a modification can occur at any time if the parent who receives support can show proof of an increase in the payer's income. Unfortunately, it doesn't include a complete list of what is considered 'income'.

Thanks aswang! (Your

Thanks aswang! (Your username still makes me laugh...I'm so immature!)

LOL!

I will still strongly

I will still *strongly* encourage you to consult an attorney -- but, with that said, if you review the PA statues regarding child custody and support laws, you'll find a breakdown of what the courts are supposed to consider when it comes to income. It's not an all-inclusive list, but it is rather extensive. Consulting with an attorney will give you a chance to use their experience when it comes to modifications of CS. Some things that might be considered income on that list can be ignored under certain circumstances (i.e. bioparent has a medical condition and including their medical assistance as income could be waived), but these things can ALL be circumstantial.

When DH and BM went to their last CS hearing, BM tried to have her income reduced by the cost of her student loans because her and her lawyer tried to argue that the cost of her loans reduced her ability to care financially for the kids. It's also worth noting that a) BM makes more than double my DH and b) they have 50/50 custody. (There's much more to this story but I haven't had enough to drink to retell it.) The CS officer didn't buy BM/BM's lawyer's argument and even went so far as to point out that her "inflated" income that "supports" the kids is the result of the education that she's repaying.

I would like to reiterate consulting with an attorney, though. I begged DH to have his lawyer with him at that meeting and he didn't do it because he didn't want to pay for it. Well, BM had her attorney and DH was there alone. Despite the fact that I gave him solid evidence of their 50/50 custody arrangement and the schedule with the kids to back it up, BM's lawyer was able to convince the CS officer that DH only had the kids 30% of the time and he was ordered to pay what amounted to 40% of our monthly income to BM. (I'm still angry about that. It took until 2 months late when they finally had a CO for custody to hammer it BACK to 50/50 and eliminate CS. The mediator in that instance even told BM and her lawyer that so long as the CO was in place, if she tried to file for CS again, she'd lose her side of 50/50 and her income would mean she would automatically be paying us CS.) Point is, get a lawyer, a good one, and have that lawyer with you. It's not worth going it alone.

Thanks SAHsigh. I will relay

Thanks SAHsigh. I will relay all of this to FDH!

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