If you can show “bad faith” on your ex’s part, you might be able to get the court to impute income to her. This would reduce your Guidelines-based child support. Take a look at Mason v. Erwin (2003, NC COA, aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/c … 0338-1.htm) for specific examples of “bad faith.”
Another option is to request a deviation from the Guidelines. You can be somewhat creative when developing your justification for deviation. Take a look at NCGS 50-13.4(c).
I agree with you that NC’s child support system is in need of thorough examination. And no, it’s not fair.
have you considered some of the other things you can use to adjust the support amount?
e.g. paying for health/dental insurance and day care, extraordinary expenses…
You could also pursue more visitation/custody - not of course merely as a way of decreasing child support but it might even things out a bit.
Does Dental Insurance count? I’ve been considering it. If it does, and can reduce the amount of CS I would owe, I’d have to consider it. I’m responsible for all the medical bills anyway, nothing wrong with trying to ease that burden.
If you’d like some interesting information on how Child support "imagines up " the figures they use to calculate support go to deltabravo.net/custody/cstest.php There is a lot more information there that might help you out in addition to the suggestions above. Unfortunately, in this country, if you are a divorced man with children, somehow the first amendment no longer applies to you (…life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness?). You’re just a number, pay what they tell you to pay, you no longer have the right to “live”, just to exhist. If you end up living under an overpass because child support financialy destroys you, it’s your fault because you don’t work more , so they can take that too. The way it works is, if you’re broke, then you can’t fight back and as long as they perpetuate the myth that you’re a deadbeat dad, then no one will listen. This way they keep their dirty little secret intact and continue to receive hundreds of millions from the federal government every year.
The thing with my ex is that she claims that she cannot work because she is now a full time student. She is trying to better her life I guess, but she, at last report, is in danger of flunking out of the program she is in. She substitute teaches on an occasional basis, but her income is probably less than $500 a month by herself. They live on her new husband’s pension and inheritance. I just think that she should be made to go out and get a job to help out. While we were married, I obtained my master’s degree and worked full time to boot.
Here’s some additional info you might find helpful:
Is your ex-wife or husband refusing to work, preferring instead to live off of your child support checks? Unfortunately, some ex’s are only too happy to let you carry all the financial weight, even though they are perfectly able to hold a job. After all, why should they work if they can get the court to force you to support them? Not only does this raise your child support to the maximum amount (because the other parent “has no income”), it also sets an extremely poor example for the child. BOTH parents have a duty and an obligation to support their children, whether or not they are divorced.
If your ex is able to work but refuses to do so, find out if you can request a vocational evaluation. What this will do is send your ex to one or more occupational therapists or counselors to determine what marketable job skills they have, if he or she needs any training, and most importantly, how long it will take for them to be fully and gainfully employed again. This sets up a time limit of sorts that will force the issue of when he or she will have to go back to work and help provide for the child. This is what you want to stress- that they have the ability to work, and should do so. You’re not asking for anything outrageous- you simply want them to help support the child.
The cost of a vocational evaluation will range from $500 to $1000, possibly more in some cases. Not all States recognize this, so check around and find out if this is an option for you. If it is, give it some serious consideration- even if your child support is reduced by only $100, in the long run the money you save will be worth the cost of the vocational evaluation. The younger the child, the more you will save across the time in which you pay support. See if you can get your ex to pay for some of the costs associated with the vocational evaluation, whether by agreement or court order. Some programs allow for repayment of the vocational evaluation fees once the person becomes employed, so check into that as well.
Find out what their previous occupation was and use that as a starting point to show the court that your ex is capable of holding a job and earning a living. Also find out if he or she has any disabilities that would exclude them from certain jobs (i.e. back problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc). If they do have legitimate disabilities, generate a list of various jobs that they can perform. In short, show the court that they are capable of employment in order to assist in the support of the child.
Once they’re employed, request a commensurate reduction in your support amount. This is entirely reasonable- if your support amount was based on you being the sole wage-earner, it is only fair that the amount be reduced since they are now employed and receiving an income.
I think that the entire child support system in NC needs to be looked at. This is why.
My ex, soon after the divorce, married a man who inherited a lot of money and property in an estate settlement. Consequently, she does not need to work. She has not held a full time job in nearly 4 years. I work 40+ hours a week and still have trouble making ends meet because of the debt she left me with. I went to the Rosen website and plugged in figures in the child support calcualtor. This is incredible! If I were to petition right now for an adjustment in child support (my income has gone down and other costs have increased), just based on her income and my income, my child support would actually be INCREASED! Is this fair?