EX TRYING TO GET C.S. REDUCED!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2004
EX TRYING TO GET C.S. REDUCED!
4
Wed, 06-15-2005 - 4:16am

My ex is taking me to court to try to get our son's child support reduced. He had no problem paying it before but now that he has his girlfriend and her kids living with him all of a sudden child support is a problem for him. Don't mind that he always miraculously has money to take them all on trips here and there and that he just bought himself some ridiculous spinning rims for his fairly new larger then life SUV (yes, that should tell you what his maturity level is like).

Anywho, I'm trying to get a range of what other ex's pay in child support per month for 1 kid and preferably in California since that's where we live. I know everyone's situation and income is different but I'm just trying to get an idea so I know if he's asking for it to be reduced too much. Please help! We were very comfortable with the amount he was paying before and him getting it lowered will hurt me financially a little. When we first came up with the c.s. figure it was when we first got divorced 4 years ago and our son was 3. He's now 7 and is getting SO much more expensive and I'm not just saying that. He goes through clothes like milk and he's also starting football this fall which is naturally an expensive sport.

Has anyone ever had their ex's successfully and GREATLY get their c.s. reduced??? If anything I should request it be raised since I haven't requested a c.s. increase in 4 years and because our son is older but like I said, we've lived comfortably with the current amount so I didn't feel I had to get it raised....well that and because I'm just too nice! But I'm fighting this to the grave!

PLEASE HELP me by answering the poll I have posted under this message!!!! THANKS!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Wed, 06-15-2005 - 4:46am
My situation is probably not a typical situation, or at least I hope that it isn't. My ex has a reduction in child support, not through the courts but based on his income, at least that is what I am picking up on. We have two kids together and he is supposed to pay $248.40 per month total, which is extremely low already in my opinion. But he is only paying $106.92 because he makes very little money, by choice I am sure, and has another child in Oregon that he has to support as well. The difference that he isn't paying every month goes into arrears and he is currently $1800 in arrears, which I doubt anything will get done about. I doubt that I will ever see the money considering he is $18,000 in arrears for the child in Oregon, according to him, but he is also a liar, so I am not sure entirely about that either. I guess if it were me, I would not be allowing a reduction in child support in your situation if at all possible, especially since it could hurt you financially as you mentioned. It sounds like your ex could stand to do some belt tightening if that is the problem and perhaps you could work out something where he is helping you pay more misc expenses for your son to offset a lower child support amount. I am not sure how that all works or if your ex would be agreeable to another arrangement that would not hurt you financially. My case has only been open for about a year, and I am not all that impressed so far. I am not sure if this helps you or not, but I know how expensive things can get when you don't have adequate child support to offset your expenses. It sucks bad. Take care and I hope that things work out in your favor and that things stay fair. Keep us posted.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
Wed, 06-15-2005 - 7:29am

I'm new around here, but I saw your post and googled a child support calculator for CA. Also, you can call Child Support Enforcment and they can tell you how to calculate it. I doubt he'd be able to get it reduced, especially if there hasn't been much of an income increase on your side or a reduction in income on his side. Most states use a standard formula (the child support calculator) to determine the amount of child support paid. Hope this helps!!


http://www.alllaw.com/calculators/Childsupport/california/


Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Wed, 06-15-2005 - 7:53am

If your son was in daycare when he was 3, and he's not know because he's in elementary school, then it very well could be that the cs will go down becuase out of pocket expenses have gone down. If he is in before/after school care, that should be included in the calculation as well, but that cost is usually less than daycare costs. If he is in a lot of extra curricular activities, the expense of that should be shared between both parents as long as both parents have a say in which activities the child participates.

Do you have any sense of how his income may have changed in the past 4 years? Has yours changed much? It's hard to predict what could happen, but it is reasonable for your ex to ask the state to recalculate it since it has been that long. It may go up, you never know. Do you have an attorney? An attorney can request copies of tax returns and pay stubs from him, and give you a sense of what the new amount might be, higher or lower.

Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 06-15-2005 - 10:37am

I posted to your poll and gave you some links with calculators.


Karen ~ wildlucky4me ~