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#1
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Child Support
I am sure this is a subject that comes up in every custody situation,
but does anyone know the legal answer for PA? What exactly is child support supposed to cover? My ex is a Vice President of a big pharmaceutical co. and his new wife also has a good job at the same place (i.e. they earn lots). I am a teacher (i.e. I don't earn much!). We have joint custody but the kids come to me after school every day because I stayed in their school district. Since he left several years ago I have always paid incidentals which come up in regards to school - gym suits, school trips, etc. However, when there was a camping trip a couple of years ago, I asked my ex to share the cost with me. He refused, saying that it is 'included in child support.' He is supposed to pay for extra-curricular activities, a couple of which are actually named in the custody order. If it isn't named and something new comes up, he refuses to pay for it. Thing is, now my daughter is going on a school trip for a few days and I cannot afford the cost at the moment. I sent the forms to my ex, and he again says he won't pay because he pays me enough in child support. I could ask my lawyer, but that will probably cost me almost as much as the trip ! Thanks in advance for any info. Emmily |
#2
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Emmily wrote:
: I am sure this is a subject that comes up in every custody situation, : but does anyone know the legal answer for PA? What exactly is child : support supposed to cover? : My ex is a Vice President of a big pharmaceutical co. and his new wife : also has a good job at the same place (i.e. they earn lots). I am a : teacher (i.e. I don't earn much!). We have joint custody but the kids : come to me after school every day because I stayed in their school : district. If you ex is a VP of a large company, it's likely he pays a lot of child support. C.S. is supposed to cover the expenses of the child and unless specified in the Support Order, that is all that he owes. If you can't afford a couple hundred dollars for the trip, then perhaps the child should not go or you may consider adhering to a budget that allows for savings for such expenses. It is not the father's responsibility to pay all costs of the child. You are supposed to contribute also and as mentioned earlier, I'll bet you're already receiving a substantial amount of CS. Hence, the father's reluctance to pay more. b. |
#3
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"Emmily" wrote in message ups.com... I am sure this is a subject that comes up in every custody situation, but does anyone know the legal answer for PA? What exactly is child support supposed to cover? My ex is a Vice President of a big pharmaceutical co. and his new wife also has a good job at the same place (i.e. they earn lots). I am a teacher (i.e. I don't earn much!). We have joint custody but the kids come to me after school every day because I stayed in their school district. Since he left several years ago I have always paid incidentals which come up in regards to school - gym suits, school trips, etc. However, when there was a camping trip a couple of years ago, I asked my ex to share the cost with me. He refused, saying that it is 'included in child support.' He is supposed to pay for extra-curricular activities, a couple of which are actually named in the custody order. If it isn't named and something new comes up, he refuses to pay for it. Thing is, now my daughter is going on a school trip for a few days and I cannot afford the cost at the moment. I sent the forms to my ex, and he again says he won't pay because he pays me enough in child support. I could ask my lawyer, but that will probably cost me almost as much as the trip ! Thanks in advance for any info. CS is intended to cover all household expenditures allocated to children. The broad categories covered include housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care, education, and miscellaneous expenses. It is somewhat surprising to hear the child's father is ordered to pay for extracurricular activities since those expenses are already included in the economic models used to determine CS awards. Another factor to consider is the child's father's CS payments are only a percentage of the total CS obligation. The other parent is responsible for paying their own percentage of the total CS obligation plus any amount that exceeds the CS award. |
#4
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Child support formulas attempt to keep a child's standard of living
the same as it would have been had the parent's remained together; hence, the NCP's contribution via child support should cover the NCP's portion of everything... from bare necessities to extravagant luxuries (should the family have been able to provide such as a unit). I don't agree with forcing an NCP to pay for discretionary items in child support, but that it how it is currently done. Now you say you have joint custody. Is that joint legal or joint physical or both? Presumably, the child support would have been adjusted for joint physical (i.e. a flow of dollars from you to him while he has the kids is subtracted from the larger flow from him to you). I am uncertain how the court handles the actual payments (who pays) of extras in this case, but it seems as though your order attempted to make that clear by specifying that he pay for extra-curricular activities. Without having the actual text of your order, it would be unclear to me whether the activities named were to be inclusive or examples. He obviously reads it as inclusive. That aside, however, I must remind you that not all children will be able to afford this trip and it is not necessary for survival. Sure, it could be an educational opportunity and, as a teacher, you may feel more strongly about it than your ex, but your daughter will survive either way. Asking your lawyer for clarification is fine (and costly as you point out), but would unlikely yield any results in time to pay for this trip. In fact, if the answer is "he should pay for it," the only recourse is paying for it yourself and taking him back to court for reimbursement. Even then, the judge may view the order as your ex does... inclusive of the items mentioned. On 7 Apr 2005 10:13:14 -0700, "Emmily" wrote: I am sure this is a subject that comes up in every custody situation, but does anyone know the legal answer for PA? What exactly is child support supposed to cover? My ex is a Vice President of a big pharmaceutical co. and his new wife also has a good job at the same place (i.e. they earn lots). I am a teacher (i.e. I don't earn much!). We have joint custody but the kids come to me after school every day because I stayed in their school district. Since he left several years ago I have always paid incidentals which come up in regards to school - gym suits, school trips, etc. However, when there was a camping trip a couple of years ago, I asked my ex to share the cost with me. He refused, saying that it is 'included in child support.' He is supposed to pay for extra-curricular activities, a couple of which are actually named in the custody order. If it isn't named and something new comes up, he refuses to pay for it. Thing is, now my daughter is going on a school trip for a few days and I cannot afford the cost at the moment. I sent the forms to my ex, and he again says he won't pay because he pays me enough in child support. I could ask my lawyer, but that will probably cost me almost as much as the trip ! Thanks in advance for any info. Emmily |
#5
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Thanks - this was helpful.
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#6
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At the time child support was originally determined, I was a stay at
home mother. We have joint legal and physical custody. We started off with my having primary physical, but he fought me in a very unpleasant manner to get shared physical custody. There really is no comparison between what he earns and what I now earn - I am a part-time instructional aide, but will soon be a full-time elementary teacher. Since he was ordered to pay for extra-curricular activities, I thought that a camping trip would qualify. The Order says 'including but not limited to...soccer and piano lessons...' because those were the only activities going on at the time. He even refused to pay for the soccer this winter because it was not 'on his nights'. If it were on his nights he would complain about the time taken away from his custody time. There is no way to win with him. My son is already complaining about being held hostage to custody, and is starting to rebel over it. He is 13 and keeps asking when he can choose where he goes. Any ideas on that one? (We are in PA) Liz |
#7
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My ex. assumes that I will not think it worth my time going back to
court to obtain money he owes me. We are 20 months past the financial settlement date, and he still has outstanding transfers which he is doing nothing about (pension, shares, health insurance contributions). Eventually I am going to have to take him to court for contempt to get the money he owes me. I just hate having to go to court all the time. I seriously think he is counting on my getting tired of it all and giving up. Liz |
#8
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"Emmily" wrote in message oups.com... At the time child support was originally determined, I was a stay at home mother. We have joint legal and physical custody. We started off with my having primary physical, but he fought me in a very unpleasant manner to get shared physical custody. There really is no comparison between what he earns and what I now earn - I am a part-time instructional aide, but will soon be a full-time elementary teacher. Since he was ordered to pay for extra-curricular activities, I thought that a camping trip would qualify. The Order says 'including but not limited to...soccer and piano lessons...' because those were the only activities going on at the time. He even refused to pay for the soccer this winter because it was not 'on his nights'. If it were on his nights he would complain about the time taken away from his custody time. There is no way to win with him. My son is already complaining about being held hostage to custody, and is starting to rebel over it. He is 13 and keeps asking when he can choose where he goes. Any ideas on that one? (We are in PA) Just a couple of random comments without any knowledge of the apparent power struggle going on between the two of you. First, paying for soccer and being able to attend the soccer games are two different issues. Unless you live some distance apart, going to the soccer games would give him an opportunity to see his son during the time he is in your care. I'm a little surprised he is not seeing it that way. If the soccer is such a sticking point, he missed a chance to get the decree language changed when the custody arrangement changed. Why not simply ask him is he is willing to replace the extracurricular payments with something else he prefers? (He may have done that already and not communicated the specifics to you.) Second, in a couple of years when your son starts to drive, his mobility will be more within his own control and he will exercise his freedom accordingly. Who he sees, and when, will change. As an example, when my son got his own car he saw his mother less. (I had custody of him from age 14 on.) And when my daughter got her own car, I saw her more frequently but for shorter periods of time. Third, when court decrees try to dictate a bunch of details that causes problems when circumstances (or attitudes) change. I'd just accept the fact the soccer language is no longer workable, for whatever reason, and let it go. Hopefully, some other things have changed to make up for the soccer situation. If he has joint custody he is probably paying for more things now than when the soccer deal was struck. Going back to court is way too expensive for getting resolution of situational problems. |
#9
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"Emmily" wrote in message oups.com... My ex. assumes that I will not think it worth my time going back to court to obtain money he owes me. We are 20 months past the financial settlement date, and he still has outstanding transfers which he is doing nothing about (pension, shares, health insurance contributions). Eventually I am going to have to take him to court for contempt to get the money he owes me. I just hate having to go to court all the time. I seriously think he is counting on my getting tired of it all and giving up. Have your attorney write to his attorney to ask for an explanation for the delay in implementing the court's order and press for quick resolution. The attorneys are officers of the court and have state bar standards to fully implement the court's order or go back to the court to ask for further assistance. |
#10
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"Emmily" wrote in Thanks - this was helpful. I can't help but wonder what the other 100% of child support pays for? |
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