My husband and his ex have a child support order. My ex husband and I also have one, but he does not pay and it seems that Michigan is unwilling to do anything to try and make him. My question is since my husband acts in loco parentis to my children since their bio father is not paying for them and has nothing to do with them, can he claim them as other children he is responsible for? The exact verbiage on worksheet A states “On line 1, enter the monthly gross incomes of both parties in the appropriate column, subtract the payments made by each parent under previous child support orders for other children of that parent and the amount of the parent’s financial responsibility for other children living with that parent, and enter the difference (monthly adjusted gross income) for each parent on line 2.” It never states if children he is responsible for have to be biological or adopted or if step children would count.
No, your husband cannot include your children with your ex-husband as his children that he is responsible for (Worksheet A, line 1(b)). A person can only count the children they have a legal responsibility for in line 1(b) - this means the person must be the natural or adoptive parent of the children.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
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