Any advice on paying too much CS ?
First I want to say my husband and I totally believe in CS-he has never been a dead beat dad and has taken care of his childrn well. We did our court thing-and because my husband had alot of OT-they punished him by charging him that amount for the whole year. 7 months went by-no OT we got behind on our house payments-credit cards etc. So we go to court and they come up with a 3 month check stub thing-he pays his hourly like he's supposed to-but if there is OT he has to pay the extra at the end of 3 months. This is the 6th month and we find out that he is actually paying more than he should-but if we go back to the old way he'll have to pay high amounts weather he gets OT or not! We are screwed! Then our lawyers sign off on the 3 month thing-we think we are done-but BM apparently doesn't let her lawyer go-so we get threatening letters every 3 months that they are gonna take us back to court if we don't give in to some really high amounts! I finally meet with her lawyer and guess what-she did the math wrong! I asked her why she is still on the case and she says she is working for free for BM. So every 3 months I have to prove the math-stress over going to court and I just don't understand why this lawyer is doing this for free for this woman! She tried to get me to take a deal (for my husband) these are my step-kids! The amount is so high that its 1/2 his checks (after taxes) I know the go by gross but jeez! She even gets his bonus checks for perfect attendance-vacation time-everything! Is it kind of like extortion to threaton us every month-we have no money left to go to court and are afraid if we do we'll be homeless. Any advise for us?? At this point if we lose our home-I dont think we can even afford an apartment. I lossed my job because I am totally disabled with a neurological disease-some months I can't even get my medication-I wish I could work to help but alot of times I'm wheelchair bound. I can't get any state help because he makes too much-even though we have hardly anything left. I just had to get this off my chest because I feel like he's been done so wrong. Why do they ask how much your bills are in the forms if it doesn't matter? They also keep supeona his work like we are lieing about his wages and they keep finding out we aren't-I'm afraid eventually he'll lose his job-but he can't help it. So far this year (6 moths) she has been given 1000.00 over what is owed to her) We also pay 1/2 everything and have joint custody-no custodial in this picture. She also tells the kids we have no intention of sending them to college. At this point-I'm trying to figure out how to get them school clothes. I'm just very scared whats gonna happen to us and how we are gonna continue to try to keep the kids with everything they need. Any advise would be great-thank you!
In most states, child support
In most states, child support is calculated using all available income with very few exceptions. Overtime counts as do bonuses and other benefits.
I'm not sure why you are meeting with her attorney unless you had an attorney present as well. This is really important to understand: Her attorney is working for her. The attorney is ethically and professionally obligated to represent her client. She may be able to meet with you and work out agreements. But she will always always always always act in the best interest of her client. And the attorney cannot represent both sides. No exceptions. She will not represent your interests and her clients. Again, she can meet with, talk to you, work out deals, etc... But her obligation is her client. She will always seek the best outcome for your husband's ex. Not because she is a man-hating divorce attorney, but because she has no choice. She faces fines and/or disbarment if she doesn't aggressively protect the interest of the client. And again, her client is the ex.
I say all that to suggest that if you don't have an attorney, you get one immediately. And if you already have one, let him handle it. Yes, it's expensive. It's expensive because it's worth it. A good attorney can fix this for you. The day you talk with and retain an attorney, your stress level will drop. Let an attorney deal with this.
Thank you
Thank you
Well-the first attorney wwwe
Well-the first attorney wwwe had to take to the state bar. He claimed my husband made 100,000 year even though 5 years of check stubs said different! HE got a slap on the wrist and admitted he didnt take the time on our case to really help us. The second attorney-got us this deal for the 3 month thing. We agreed-signed off in January-but waited for her attorney to sign off first. We have spent thousands of dollars and even put my car up for a loan to finally get this over with. This is the ex that went to jail for DUI left the state and left the kiods here with us, while she became homeless from her drinking and jobless. To take all the attention off of her-they decided to attack his wages. Ugg this is such a long story-you wouldn't believe it. Anyways, we just don't have faith in the legal system anymore or attorneys. So everybody agrees in mediation what we're gonna do-but the ex and her attorney have the plan to keep going except no-one was aware of that. Our attorney wants another 5,000 retainer and that is just too much for us to attain. She had a career making 23.00 per hour and when she found out she could make less (now 14.00) noone ever said anything about that. NOw if my H gets layed off he has to pay same amount because they say he's capable of making that much. I know I shouldn't be talking to the "other side" but all I'm doing is math. I just thought it might be illegal for her to sign off on the case-wait for us too-make agreements through mediation and keep harrassing us. What do you think? And thank you for response.